Curly Snaps, Again
by krossfire
Summary: The gang is in high school and unfortunately, Curly snaps again. But this time around, he weilds a more lethal weapon... Curly & Rhonda Status: Complete
1. Nothing Much Had Changed

_Preface: _Actually, this is my first work of fanfiction ever. I just don't want to publish before because the issue I'm tackling in this fanfic is controversial to some, since it's a story about school shootings and all. As all of you may have known, Curly is insane and he fits perfectly in the role as the antagonist of this story. This chapter is served as a warm up and to establish the characters as teenagers before the real gritty chapters much later after this. I will rate this PG-13 for now.

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**Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.**

Chapter 1: Nothing much had changed since fourth grade.

"Give daddy some sugar!"

"Aughhh!!"

---

"That is, if you hadn't completely fall madly in love with me by then!"

"Ugh, as IF!"

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"Rhonda, doll. Wanna dance with me?"

"Uh, no. Absolutely not."

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"Curly, there is no way I'm wearing that shirt... I can't believe I'm wearing this shirt!"

"As you can see people, we are a couple, and we love each other, isn't it right my sweet?"

---

"Rhonda my love, babe, wanna cuddle?"

"Eww, get away from me you freak!"

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"It's worth a thousand 'I love you's!"

"My life... is over!"

---

"So how about giving me your lock of hair for me to keep under my pillow?"

"UGH! That's unbelievably gross!!"

---

And those were just a slice of what Curly said and did to Rhonda. Those horrible images (to her) that held inside her mind had practically haunted her ever since the fourth grade. She couldn't understand why the heck he loves her so much even though she always acted bitterly towards him. It was nighttime just a few minutes after 8:30 pm and Rhonda and Nadine were on the phone having their usual talk. She had always complained and whined to her about Curly, but always with an open ears and an open mind, Nadine let Rhonda spew her feelings to her, although it can get annoying after a quite while.

"Auughhhhh! I swear Nadine! That kid is driving _me crazy_!!" Rhonda screamed through the phone while pacing in her room back and forth.

She had expected this, "Have you just... you know... talk to him how you feel?" Nadine replied, it was the same reply that she gave to her before over and over. She was sitting on her bed reading a copy of a _National Geographic_ magazine.

"That is one lame advice, Nadine. Anyway, I did tried to, but he won't listen, and like, before you ask, I tried to ignore him, scowled and shove him away but it didn't work either. The last thing on my mind is like, to slap some restraining order on him but I feel that's a little bit too drastic, even for me. I mean, could he be more annoying? Like, tell me Nadine; will our names eventually become synonymous? I shudder to think the day we would become a couple together!"

"You know Rhonda, come to think of it; I think you do like him."

"WHAT?! As if! I can't believe this! Like, are you even listening to me Nadine?! _I_ _hate him_!! Which part of 'hate' don't you understand?! What makes you feel that I have 'feelings' or, or adoring or even l-l-love that idiot?!" she opposed irately.

"Well, even if you don't like him, you always talk about him non-stop to me, and that's the only guy you've been talking about most often since the third grade!" Nonchalantly Nadine replied.

"OH! That is so unfair Nadine!"

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All of the gang of the old PS 118 was now studying in the same high school and although not everyone had noticed it, it was clear; nothing had changed much since fourth grade. Arnold and Gerald were still the best of friends, so were Helga and Phoebe, and Rhonda and Nadine. Sid, Stinky and Harold were still the troublemakers of the group, Eugene and Sheena were still the geeks of the class, Lorenzo the humble friendly yuppie, Curly the psychopath, Brainy still had a thing for Helga, and Lila, was still Miss Perfect. Fortunately in spite of their high school cliques and different class schedules, they still help around and hang out with each other. No stupid high school stereotype will break their bond apart.

Arnold now ditched the sweater and donning a red-orange-y flannel shirt to the likes that he wore in grade school and wearing a pair of blue-ish cargo pants. The blue baseball cap was still there, but a new one bought by his grandfather. Gerald wore a red sweater, which sometime ago Phoebe commented that he looked dashing in that attire, and a pair of dark blue pants, but his hair was now short like Jamie O's and he kept a thin beard around the chin area. Both of them were sitting at the front row in the classroom, with the teacher giving a new project assignment.

"Class, there's a few more minutes before the bell rings, so I'm gonna make it short. I want all of you to prepare a twenty page biology report about the subdivisions and branches of it, like zoology, botany and the likes. Isn't it exciting? And guess what? I'm allowing you to choose freely and anything that you like. Remember: choose only one, do it and hand it over to me when it's finished."

"Anything?" a student raised her hand and asked the teacher.

"Yes – and don't interrupt. Dateline is three weeks from today. In that report of yours you must explain in detail what the selected field actually does; the history of the said field, some samples of their work, and study what they usually study. And I want it to be in academic writing format, _not _an English essay. Just a reminder for some of you out there... and finally as usual, I want all of you to do it in a group of four, alright? Are you munchkins crystal about this? And are there any questions, suggestions, crude comments, or snide remarks? Don't think so."

The bell rang.

"Alright, there goes the bell. Remember class, three weeks from now I want that report on my desk! Now get outta my classroom!" And the class dispersed. As Arnold and Gerald were packing their books in their bag, Rhonda and Nadine walked over to them, seemed the girls had something on their minds.

"Hey, Arnold, Gerald," greeted Rhonda, with a playful flirt. She was the chicest and the one of the most popular girl in school, always wearing expensive but casual designer clothes, and she's definitely had matured over the years because she does not brag as much as she did in grade school, much to everyone's delight. If it wasn't for Nadine, she would've become one of those stereotypical snotty, snobbish yuppies who tend to stick their noses up so high by now. Nadine on the other hand, had always wearing her unbranded clothes, pretty much like when she was in the fourth grade, although Rhonda had told her time and again that she should buy branded ones. The braids were still there, but they no longer defy gravity, because she tied her braids together, becoming a ponytail.

"Well, hellooo there beautifuls," Gerald replied suavely.

"Me and Rhonda got to thinking, since you guys did a bug-cum-fashion project with us in grade school..." said Nadine, she was hugging her books to her chest.

"You're not suggesting that we have to wear those bug costumes again, are you?" Arnold replied worriedly.

Nadine giggled softly, "He, he. Well, as much as we want to, we won't. We feel that us and you guys have this perfect interaction thing going on each and every time we do a school assignment together, so we thought you guys are the most qualified partners for us."

"So like, what do you guys think?" Rhonda interjected.

Gerald looked at Arnold and saw him gave him an approval look. "Sure, we're cool." he replied nonchalantly.

"Okay..." Arnold nodded, "what kind of science field are we talking about here?"

"Entomology. Bugs, insects, et cetera."

"A report about bugs? And Rhonda accepted this suggestion of yours, Nadine?" Arnold replied shockingly. "Suffice it to say that I am..." he paused for a dramatic effect, with his left hand placed on his heart, "absolutely _shocked..._" he said sarcastically in a good-natured way.

"Rhonda, I thought you hated bugs." Gerald replied in curiosity.

"Well, like I still _am!_ Anyway, have to agree with her since, like I have a made a deal with her sometime ago." She informed, "I don't want to talk about it..." she continued, mumbling.

"A bug report... what do you have to say about it Gerald?"

He grinned at Arnold, "I say we go for it."

"Hellooo my sweet!" somebody shouted affectionately suddenly from afar.

"Oh my God!" Rhonda smacked her forehead. "Like, not him again... Curly..." she shuddered in peeve. It's the psychopath Curly, still wearing those dorky red glasses, his hair was messy, he had a growth spurt some two years ago and zits littered his face. His shirt did not changed, except now he was wearing pants instead of shorts.

"Would you like to join my group, my darling? We could do a lot of fun stuff together..."he said in a flowery voice.

"Eww, no. Besides, I like, already have a group; I'm with Nadine, Arnold and Gerald."

"Oh... but could you please reconsider it my love?" Curly pleaded.

"No." she answered coldly.

"Please, please, oh pretty _please_ baby? With sugar on top?" he pleaded once more, this time kneeling theatrically.

"Like, for the _last_ time Curly: _NO_!!"

"Oh well. At least I tried." The disappointed Curly uttered nonchalantly, as he stood up and brushing his pants. "Alas, I couldn't do anything now but to rejoin back with my group. I shall depart now, my dearest!" he said, and he tried to grab Rhonda's hand to kiss it. His lips and her hand met.

"Eww! Will you _please _go away, you creepy little freak?!" she yelled and yanked her hand back, disgusted by Curly's behavior.

"Yes, pumpkin. AHAHAHAHAHA!" he then ran away from them with his hands high in the air, cackling maniacally.

"Heh, some people just won't change no matter how much you wanted them to. Isn't it right Rhonda?" chuckled Arnold.

"Yeah, and unfortunately for me, he still likes me." She said, examining her hand oozing with Curly's drool. "Ugh... Eww... I'm going to the bathroom and like, clean this disgusting slime up." She said as she turned around and walked off to the bathroom while still looking at them.

"Okay, Rhonda. See you at the bus stop." Gerald said while waving at her, and she waved back. Gerald and Nadine headed off to the stop while Arnold went to the bicycle stand.

"Man Nadine, you're one incredible girl. How _do_ you put up with her valley girl accent ?" Gerald asked her as they walked to the bus stop.

"Meh, it's a gift." she replied it short.

After he unlocked his bike, Arnold cycled to the bus stop to accompany Gerald and Nadine for a while before the bus arrives. The bus stop itself was crowded. Not in sense of being very packed, just a handful of people that would be enough to fill one third of the bus. He got off and leaned his bike onto a signboard and joined them.

Everyone there minded their own business, doing idle things like gossiping, listening to music, playing a videogame, text messaging to each other, reading a book, and just plain standing around doing nothing but wait. As they wait for Rhonda to arrive, the three people were chatting amongst themselves covering almost every subject they can think of, from school gossip to the project they're doing. Nadine had heard some rumors a couple of weeks ago that Arnold may have to move away from the city. Thinking this was the perfect opportunity to ask him, she decided to clarify the rumor to herself.

"Say Arnold, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, shoot."

"Well, uh... I couldn't help but to hear that you're moving away with your parents in six months from now; is it true?"

Arnold gave her a pause, and looked down, answering in a melancholic voice, "I don't know. Mom, dad and I don't have a unanimous answer to that. Mom saw a robbery a few weeks ago and she was kinda freaked out by it. Coincidentally, she got a job offer at the West Coast too, so she really wanted to move there after she heard that the crime rate there is much lower than here. But my dad is happy with his job here and I like living in this city. It's... tough to compromise. I... I really don't want to talk about it Nadine. I'm sorry."

Nadine felt guilty listening to the answer that Arnold just gave to her. She gazed blankly at the sidewalk and wondered why she asked such an inconsiderate question to Arnold, "I'm sorry if my question hurt your feelings, Arnold. It was just not my intention to make you feel bad," she apologized with a saddened tone.

"No apologies necessary, Nadine. It's okay, I know you meant well." He said with a warm smile. Nadine replied the smile back, and intentionally averted the glum conversation into a more direct, casual one.

"New bike?" she pointed at Arnold's shiny new earth-colored mountain bike, _"Of all things to talk about..."_ Nadine thought with disbelief.

"Heh, yeah. My dad bought it yesterday for me so I could use it to school and the boarding house to help Grandma and Grandpa out. I guess I might as well try it out today, considering its Monday and all."

"That's cool. That's very thoughtful of your father." She replied.

"Yeah, he sure is." Arnold gave a soft smile. "Wanted a car though, but it's a pipe dream, I mean, I just begun Driver's Ed this semester for crying out loud. But hey, one can drive if one doesn't know..." kinda out of character for Arnold to say something as juvenile as that.

"You're bold kid for ever bringing that bicycle to school, man."

"_Hey... that's my line, Nadine." _Gerald thought.

"Ah, it's just for one day. After this, I'll just have to cover my head in shame with my hooded sweater." Arnold replied jokingly. "Kinda surprised that it survived the day, though..."

"So, Nadine," Gerald finally had the space to speak, "I couldn't help but to notice that best friend of yours is in dilemma with that boy, Curly. Why won't you help her out or something? Of course, I'm offering my sincerest apologies, if it's none of my business."

"It's okay Gerald. I want to talk about it to someone myself, and since both of you have my trust, I'm going to share you with this secret. She's... how should I put this... about to blow up. She can't stand Curly anymore. She would always talk about him to me when we were on the phone, like usually how much she despised her and stuff. She tried everything, from ignoring him, talking to him and shoving him away but he just wouldn't listen. Heck, once she even considered of putting a restraining order! One time I went to her room, I saw her took her anger out by punching and kicking a stuffed bear screaming '_Shut up, Curly! Shut up Shut up Shut up!!_' And the saddest part is she has been doing that since the fifth grade. I'm worried about her you guys; I feel like... she's going to explode any day soon, like Ned Flanders in that one _Simpsons _episode." She told, very concerned about her best friend.

Both of the boys widened their eyes in shock when hearing it. Thankfully, people around them did not hear any of the secret that Nadine just confided.

She slapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh God, I said too much..." she gasped. "Please, promise me you two, you guys won't tell a soul about her problem."

"Y-yeah... we won't..." Arnold said, still in shock. He and Gerald took a quick glance at each other, and both of them lost on words to say anything back. Arnold then leaned his body back against a pole, sighing heavily with his head facing upwards to the sky and crossed his arms behind his head. _"Two psychopaths... they're meant for each other."_ He thought. He then turned his head at the main school building, and noticed someone coming at them.

"Hey, Rhonda's here." And he heard a vehicle coming, "and so is the bus. What a strange coincidence." The bus stopped by the curb and everyone at the stop formed a line, except for Arnold who went over to his bike. Rhonda and Nadine were behind Helga who was waiting impatiently for the old lady in front of her to climb the absurdly steep bus stairs. Behind Rhonda was Gerald, gazing dreamily at Phoebe who was already inside the bus. Arnold pushed the bike forward, but unfortunately the rear wheel ran over Helga's left feet, and she squealed loudly.

Phoebe was the most petite among the girls, made a ponytail and although she had grown taller but she was still the shortest amongst the girls. Apparently, her taste in fashion hadn't changed much since fourth grade. She was also the brightest among the gang, because she puts the school she represented in the academic map. What can we say about Helga? She still 'hated' the football headed boy as ever, but not as fanatically like in grade school. The pink bow that was so synonymous to her was placed neatly on her favorite binder, the pigtails were all gone and got replaced by a short chin lenght hairdo and she now wore cheap black colored jeans and shirt that similar in color to that of when she was in the fourth grade.

"Watch where you're going,_ dumbass!_" she yelled angrily to him, showing her shaking fist. (The infamous Ol' Betsy!)

"I'm sorry Helga, I wasn't looking." he replied back at her in regret as he watches her go onboard the bus.

"I'm sorry Helga, I wasn't looking!" Helga imitated snidely, "Sheesh! Do me a favor next time football head, _look _before you go somewhere and make it a habit!"

"Jeez, come on Helga, it was just an honest mistake, nothing to get freaked out about."

"_No..._" she answered back sarcastically, "the only mistake I see around here is _you_, because _you're _the load your mom should've swallowed, _football head!_" she then continued her way into the bus and sat next to Phoebe.

"No offence Arnold, but that insult: was her best yet," Nadine said with a teasing smile.

"Yeah, and I am _so _glad that you liked it." He replied sarcastically.

"Oh come on, you know she was just teasing around." Rhonda said defending her. "Hey, come to think of it, you _are _right - some people just won't change no matter how much you wanted them to. Isn't it right Arnold?" Rhonda added while climbing onboard.

"Yeah, and unfortunately for me, she still hates me." A brief sigh from him, "Well, see you guys later. Let me know when you guys are ready to do the project," he said nonchalantly as he climbs his bike, and cycles off to his home. _"Helga... when will are you going to change?"_

"Young lady, I'm on a tight schedule here, so please don't hold up the bus," the driver gave a warning. "Oh, sorry," she apologized. She and Nadine then took and empty seat while Gerald showed the driver his bus pass and took an empty seat. The bus was now in motion, chugging away to the next destination. To fill their time while on the bus, Nadine and Rhonda exchanged some idle chat.

"Say Nadine, what're you doing after this?"

"I dunno, nothing maybe. Why?"

"Good, because yesterday when I was, like shopping at the mall and stuff, I saw this cool dress that is _so _you like, if you wear it, so like, I thought I'd want to show it to you because, what are you wearing now is... how should I put it, no offence but eww."

"Rhonda, not again..." Nadine said with a disappointed sigh, "We've been over this a hundred times already. This is always the way I wear, and nobody, even you is going to make me change my mind."

"C'mon, you like, should at least change your style once in a while. You could start with The GRAP, Kalvin-Clein, Caprini, Billabang... heck, I'll even buy one for you!"

"I dunno, I'm not very fond of big brand corporate establishments. They oppress their factory workers in third-world countries so they could garner more profits for themselves. It's wrong, you know."

"So you're like, saying that you'd prefer wearing that grey-market outlet mall discount rather than the brands I mentioned?"

"To make it short, yeah. I prefer cheap and comfortable rather than brand popularity." She said affirmatively.

Rhonda couldn't believe it, as she sighed in disappointment, "Like, what am I going to do with you Nadine? Where's your fashion awareness? Still, I won't give up on you. Sooner or later, you'll see how important fashion is to the modern world and to an individual." One thing about Rhonda, she doesn't give up easily.

"I still don't understand why you want to change me to something I don't want to be, Rhonda. Heck, I even don't understand why you still want to hangout with a geeky nature girl like me. I mean, don't you have your own cliques to hang around with, like the popular girls or something?"

"No Nadine, don't take it wrong. First and foremost, I'm already one of them, and they were like, told me that they already knew that you're so stubborn about your style. So like, I told them that I could change you one way or another since I consider it as a challenge and all, nothing else. Secondly, unlike them, I like to diversify my friends a little bit. And finally, you're like, my best friend since forever, Nadine. I'm not going to abandon you just because you're different from me."

And with that, Nadine smiled at her, and knew that she would never, ever ditch her for anything else in the world. "Well... if it means _that_ much to you, I guess a little peek at it wouldn't hurt..." she said with a soft smile.

"Now that's the spirit, honey!" Rhonda exclaimed excitedly.

Indeed it truly was. Nothing had changed much since the fourth grade.

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How was it? Any remarks, reviews and comments? Please write it down. 


	2. Curly's Big Secret

_Author's Note: _Second chapter, is up! It's kinda short... unfortunately.

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**Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.**

Chapter 2: Curly's big secret

_A couple of days later…_

On the other side of the city, particularly inside a well preserved two-story high urban row house, Curly's house to be precise, there was Stinky, Sid, Harold and of course, Curly himself. He had invited Stinky (and two other classmates, but they have not arrived yet) to his house to have a discussion about the project that was given to them earlier in school, while the other two were just tagging along. They walked in and took a look around the house because it had been quite some time since the last time they were there. As they looked around the house, Stinky noticed something on the fireplace that caught his eye. Stinky was the tallest among the gang, a skyscraper to put it mildly, grew a long hair and a thin moustache. Sid went into the skater look nowadays, and Harold was huskier and portlier but less overweight than he was in fourth grade, being the team leader of the school's wrestling team and all.

"Damn Curly, suffice it to say your house has changed a lot since the last time I was here. I ain't remember that particular classy lookin' picture on that fireplace. Since when did you have it?"

"Oh, that picture is nothing. That's only the half of it. You guys wanna see the really cool thing about that picture?"

The three boys nodded in agreement, eager to find out what it was actually about. Curly released a wide grin across his face. He then ventured to the garage and took a stool from it, and carried it back to the living room. His friends just watched his activities, impatiently waiting for Curly to reveal the secret. He then lifted the picture up, revealing a safe deposit box.

"Awesome!" Sid exclaimed. "A little clichéd, yet absolutely brilliant!"

"And that's not all!" Curly said to them joyfully, eager to show them the item he wanted to divulge. After cracking his knuckles, he spun the combination numbers, and the safe opened. Inside, it was gun. He took it out and pointed it to Harold.

Harold panicked, stretching his hands out, "P-Please Curly, don't kill me! I don't wanna die! PLEASE, MOMMY WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"He, he. Relax Harold. I have the safety pin on. And the gun itself has no bullets in it, see?" he opened and showed the bullet casing to Harold.

"Oh, well that's okay… I guess…" he replied nervously.

"Hey, how do you know the combination to that safe?" Sid interjected, "All my life I tried to figure out how to open my pop's safe, but none of my plans work – and I'm running out of options! But _you, you _my friend accomplished something that I've been meaning to do all these years. How do you do it?"

"Why Sid, I am shocked!" he replied sarcastically, "the legendary troublemaker is having a trouble with something so effortless? For shame Sid! For shame!"

"Yes! It is true! Oh, tell me your secret The Great One!" Sid pleaded jokingly.

"Have you tried to frequently observe your father when he opened that safe of his? Look closely at combination numbers as he spins it, and try to remember the combination."

"Well, that was pretty _freaking_ obvious… but hey, I'll give it a try."

Stinky came forward, extended his hand out and Curly gave him the gun. He checked the barrel, the ammo slot, cocked it up and used his two hands to hold it and pointed at the ceiling above.

"Well I'll be damned, ain't this a .357 six-shooter Magnum gun Curly?" Stinky asked in amazement. "My grandpa used to have one back in Arkansas in his gun collection. He's a NRA member you know." He said as he gave the weapon back to Curly.

"Indeed it is Stinky. Dad uses it to protect the Laundromat and himself from crooks."

"It must be awesome to have a gun in the house. Do you like, go to a shooting range somewhere and shoot at ducks all day?" Sid inquired.

"Well, my dad does. But I go paintballing since my dad feel I'm not responsible enough to hold a real gun. 'Sides, isn't it illegal or something to have a minor holding a gun?"

"And your dad shoots ducks all day?" Sid echoed back his question enthusiastically.

Curly just snickered at him, "Aw, no Sid. Just some lifeless projectiles, that's all."

"Well, even though I'm a gun enthusiast myself I feel it's not necessary to have a gun to protect yourself."

"To each own's opinion, Stinky. Well, enough chatter gentlemen. Let's go to my room." And with that all three of them followed Curly upstairs to his room, amazingly clean for a teenage boy. There were posters of animals hanging on the walls, and books about animals were being kept tidily on a shelf near the window. Among the books there are books about Shakespeare's plays, sonnets and literally journals. The closet's door had a big sign that says "keep out, or you will get owned." None of those surprised the visitors, considering they had already known Curly's uncanny obsession for animals and classic literature. But, why the heck did he have a dresser since he already have a closet? The question didn't succeed to elude Harold's mind.

"If it wasn't for this stupid project I'd be at the skate park right about now." Sid moaned, "Chillin' with buds, smoke a cigarette or two…" he said to himself.

"Yeah, and drag us down to a D again? Hell no." Stinky opposed.

"Chill out, man. Just playin' with ya." He grinned.

Stinky rolled his eyes, and turned to Curly, "Thanks again for lettin' us using your room, Curly. I reckon we should wait awhile, on account that the other fellers are not here yet."

"Oh yeah, sure, I'm cool with that. And while we wait, would you gentlemen like some refreshments?" Curly offered.

"Yeah, why not? My throat is just as dry as the desert!" Harold said.

"Coming right up!" And he disappeared from his room. Stinky was still standing when Sid took a sit on Curly's bed as they exchanged idle conversation, mostly about their female friends' looks, how nice their behinds are, and chest size. Harold was uninterested to partake in the conversation, since his throat was too dry to let himself participate in it, and he was thinking to commit some mischief, particularly on the closet. He finally hatched up a devilish idea, and a grin begins to spread across his face. He quickly ran over to Curly's closet and opened it up.

"Harold, aren't you a little bit too old to be rummaging through other people's closet? You're not respecting Curly's privacy you know." Sid said, trying to talk some sense to him.

"Yeah, I's think it ain't wise." Stinky echoed Sid's sentiment.

But Harold didn't respond at all. He stopped, his jaw was dropped to the floor and had his eyes widened while still staring at whatever inside the closet.

"Harold? Dude, what are you staring at? What's so f'ing interesting about his closet?" Sid asked.

Stinky made a wild guess, "I reckon it's that stuffed goat that I gave to him sometime ago."

"It ain't no goat, Stinky… it's much bigger… and scarier than that…" Harold finally responded. Sid and Stinky exchanged quizzical glances at each other and in reluctance, they proceeded over towards Harold. To their surprise, Curly's closet was a treasure trove of all things Rhonda.

"Holy…of all things… holy…"

"Oh. My God… Now that's an unhealthy obsession if y'all asked me…"

"Man… and I thought his love for animals was bad…"

Sid, Stinky and Harold said incredulously. Various pictures of Rhonda since the fourth grade (walking, talking, running, playing, sitting, studying, eating, lying, sunbathing, and among other things) from every angle and in every size were sticking on the walls of his closet. In the middle of the closet, the crème de la crème of the shrine, a framed picture of a most recent her was put on a crate, with colorful artificial flowers scattered and potpourris were put around the picture of a lovely close-up of her face. Snippets of her clothes and hair locks were also lying on the floor, with scented candles burning on each side of the corner. It looks like Curly had emptied his closet to store objects that more or less connected to his love of his life, Rhonda. The three boys were freaked out at their friend's abnormal obsession, judging from all the effort that Curly took to make that shrine. They had always knew that he harbored feelings for her, but having a shrine of her? That was too much for them to handle.

"Th-th-the psycho is a freaking stalker!!" Harold abruptly accused, pointing his finger at the shrine.

"What should we do guys? WHAT should we do?!" Sid started to panic. "Should we tell Rhonda?! Should we tell Arnold?!"

"Now, now. Y'all calm down now, ya hear? There's must be a logical explanation behind all this… aw hell who am I kidding? That guy is mad!" and then Stinky began to panic himself, as he clutches his head, pulling his hair out.

"Hey guys, I'm back with the drinks!" Curly shouted from below.

"He's coming! Close the closet! Close it! CLOSE IT!!" Harold shouted with a lowered voice in a panicky manner. The three of them slammed the door together, but unfortunately Harold stepped on something, a CD case, or a cloth maybe, causing all of them to fall down onto the floor like a domino, piling on top of each other. Curly opened the door to his room, and saw his friends in a very suspicious/provocative behavior/position.

"Uhh… what are you guys doing?" Curly asked, puzzled.

"We… are… uh… wrestling… Yeah, that's it. We are wrestling. Right guys?" Harold stammered, as he pulls Sid into a headlock.

"Ack! Yeah, yeah. We're wrestling. It's a healthy exercise you know. Heh-heh," Sid said brokenly with a pitiful laugh. "Harold, not so hard, I can barely breathe…" he said to Harold under his breath.

Curly went silent. "… Uh-huh… You guys are weird."

"Well, look who's talking," Stinky said back, and Harold landed a slap at the back of his head.

"OW! Hey! Why'd you do that for?"

"Shut up, Stinky. Just shut up!" Harold muttered exasperatedly through his clenching teeth.

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The next chapter will be about Rhonda snaps, so don't miss it! Read it and give it a review, please! 


	3. Rhonda Snaps

_Author's Note: _Just what the title said, Rhonda has gone totally ballistic. Again, sorry for the very short chapter. I promise, chapters will be much more longer after this.

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**Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.**

Chapter 3: Rhonda snaps.

Next day inside the school library, Arnold, Gerald, Rhonda and Nadine were just about to finish discussing their project after gathering much sought information about bugs at the public and school library. They sat at a round table with books and information regarding about insects and arachnids piled on top of each other on the table. As the only bug enthusiast in the group, Nadine contributed some pictures that she took during her visit with her parents to a tropical country some several months ago.

"So, this is a picture of me when I was in the Kinabalu National park in some state they called Sabah. Heh, the weird part was, there were no such thing as a Malaysian Beetle –I must've listened to it's real name incorrectly when I was a kid I guess. There was no such thing. But I did take a lot of pictures of millipedes and centipedes when I was there. You guys wanna see it?" she asked as she handed out some pictures of the said bugs to Rhonda. "Pass it around."

"Ugh, gross." Rhonda said with disgust. "Do you like, have something more pleasant to look at? Like a butterfly, or a ladybug, or something?" she said as she handed the pictures to Gerald.

"I'm glad you asked Rhonda. When I was in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur I had the opportunity to visit a butterfly park there. Here they are."

"Holy crap! Hey Arnold, take a look at this centipede. It looks just like Helga's monobrow." Gerald cackled silently.

Helga was inside the library too along with Phoebe and Lila sitting at a table next of them discussing about their health class assignment. "Don't think I didn't hear that, Geraldo!" Helga threatened silently, shaking her fist (Infamous Five Avengers!) at him. Lila was one of the most popular girls in school, due to mostly of her ever so excellent grades, one of the friendliest girls to hang out with and her innocent cute look that drives the guys crazy about her. She replaced her pigtails with her auburn hair trimmed to a chin-length, wearing a modest looking blouse and ankle-long skirt, and you guessed it; green in color. Yep, she's the Miss Perfect Honors Roll student that all the other girls love to hate. However, she was not perfect enough. She was slow to take a hint and very naïve, but thankfully not that gullible.

Helga was extremely unwilling to do the assignment with Lila, but after Phoebe talked to her into it, she gave up. Whatever, better her than that pompous, stuck up, arrogant rich snob Princess Rhonda. Nobody had exactly known when they hated each other, although most assumed it started at middle school. Helga's attitude towards Lila had become quite warmer ever since Lila's lukewarm relationship with Arnold was over, although that's not saying much. Phoebe and Lila were the most bitter of all rivals, but only in academic excellence. Other than that, they were okay with each other.

"Gerald…" Arnold said in a warning voice.

"He, he. Lighten up, man. I was just goofing around."

"Ohh, this one is beautiful. This is definitely going with the project." Rhonda said referring to a green and black winged butterfly, with a beautiful pattern embedded on it.

"Okay, I think that wraps up all of it. I suggest all of us should start gathering information about the bugs we just selected after school. And since we have about ten minutes left before the bell rings, I think I have plenty of time to show you guys my pictures when I was at the capital. You guys wanna see it?" she asked.

"Yeah, why not? I haven't heard much about this country Nadine, apart from they used to have the tallest building in the world." Gerald said.

"Here's the picture of it," Nadine gave out the mentioned picture to Gerald. Arnold and Rhonda got closer to Gerald to examine the picture.

"Wow, they look like rockets." Arnold commented.

Rhonda continued, "Yeah, they --"

"Oh my sweet beautiful angel, there you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Curly interrupted and called Rhonda lovingly from the library's entrance. A librarian shushed him to be quiet, but he shrugged it off and headed straight to Rhonda merrily. The librarian was actually a volunteer, and to be more descriptive, it was the Campfire Lass; a year younger than the gang, although nobody called her that anymore since she quitted the brigade when she entered middle school. Mostly everyone called her the Librarian Lass now, since she was a volunteer at the library and also a bit of a bookworm.

"What… Curly?" Rhonda replied back in reluctance dryly, in hoping for him to go away and leave her alone. "May I remind you that we are in the library, and we're like, supposed to keep _quiet_?!" Rhonda said with her teeth clenching, trying desperately to keep her temper down.

"Yes! YES! I will keep quiet for you my angel!" he said with great felicity. Other people in the library tried to hush him down.

"Curly, you're not listening…" she responded as her eyes twitched, already about to explode in anger.

"Nonsense, my sweet. My ears are open just as big as my love towards you!" he exclaimed proudly.

And from those words, she began to quiver and got up from her seat, gnashed her teeth, shook both of her fists and pounded them onto the table. Miss Rhonda Wellington Lloyd finally snapped. "That's it! I HAVE HAD IT! _I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!_" she shouted loudly, and her voice echoed through the library. She then grabbed Curly by his shirt collar, hauled him across the library and pinned him to the wall aggressively. She then slapped his face violently, drawing gasps from some of the people inside the library.

"Oh, God… she finally snaps…" Nadine spoke softly in discontent as she looked down at the floor and rubbing her forehead. Arnold, Gerald, Helga, Phoebe, and Lila, fixed their eyes at Rhonda and Curly, shocked at her sudden twist of emotion. Other people inside the library took notice of Rhonda's shout, and they turned their faces and fixed their eyes on them. Eager faces strained around bookshelves and pillars just to take a good look at the two people.

"Listen to me, you pathetic ugly little douche bag; ever since the second grade you have been following me around, pestering me, flirting with me, and heck, you even tried to harass me. _WELL, I'M NOT GOING TO PUT UP WITH YOU ANY MORE, ASSHOLE!! _You know Curly, I hate you. I've always _hated_ you. I regretted saying you're an okay kid when we were in grade school! And from that moment on, you seemed to love to annoy me to no end! You're never an okay kid to begin with! In fact, you're the reason why my life is imperfect! You're the thorn, the scourge, the plague, the pestilence of my life; a FREAKING virus, and I want it to be removed. And just _how _will I intend to remove it? Well, let me tell you _this_ Mr. Gammelthorpe!" she raged furiously, without stopping for breath.

After been asked by the head librarian (the stereotypical old lady with glasses), the timid Librarian Lass went over to Rhonda, tapping her shoulder nervously, "Uh, M-Miss Lloyd… I-I'm afraid I'll haff to ask ye t-to leave the library…" she interrupted her in a much shaken, edgy voice, with her fake Scottish accent waning off a bit.

She violently spun around, "_SHUT UP!_" she yelled back, nudging her finger at the Lass. "I'll be out in a minute, just as soon as I'm _through_ with this retard!" she continued. The terrified, trembling Librarian Lass now backed away from her, seeing that she can't be controlled any more.

"Now where was I…?" she grabbed his shirt collar again, "I want you out of my life, away from me as far as possible. _Yes_, it is impossible, seeing that we're in the same school and all that, but please do try, and make a mental note at what I am trying to say. I don't want to see you outside the school grounds, and if-I-see-you, I will run you over, and you will become yet another road kill statistic." She threatened. "Don't you ever talk to me, be in the same room with me, walk on the same road with me, eat and drink on the same table with me and even ride on the same bus with me! _YOU GOT THAT!? HUH?! BUDDY?!"_ She screamed loudly in front of his face. The shaken and frightened Curly could do nothing but to nod feverishly at her fuming rant.

"Good boy!" she then released him roughly and walked away from him.

"Ms. Lloyd, for creating a ruckus in the library, I will see to it that you will get detention for two weeks." The head librarian said from the counter.

"As if I care, _bitch_!!" Rhonda yelled back irately at her.

"Make it _two_ months detention," she muttered to herself angrily.

As she walked pass Helga, she teased her with a sarcastic incendiary remark. "Hey Princess Lloyd, what's got into you? Did your PMS come in early this month?" she said mockingly. Upon hearing that, Rhonda turned her face at Helga and growled angrily at her, as if she were an angry lion.

"Yeesh!" Helga startled, darting her body slightly back agitatedly. Criminy Rhonda, I was just joking!" she said in defensive. Rhonda gazed at her in intense fury for a moment, and stormed her way out of the library, shoving the Librarian Lass away in the process. Nadine ran over to her best friend to talk her down.

"Phoebe, Helga, I reckon we should do something," Lila said. The partial southern drawl influence in her vocabulary was a direct result of hanging out with Stinky too much.

Phoebe concurred, "I'll have to agree with you, Lila. With her emotionally stressed as that she needs comfort from her colleagues more than ever."

They both got up from their seats, but Helga didn't seem to bother. "Helga, would you like to join us in helping Rhonda?" Lila asked her.

"Nope, why the hell should we help her anyway? She's the one who snapped, not Curly." she retorted.

"But Helga, I'm ever so certain--"

"Didn't you just hear what I said, Ms. Perfect?" she pointed at her own face, "does this face look like 'I give a shit' face to you?" she questioned her with an annoyed tone.

_"It's bad enough I'm stuck doing this stupid project with you, little turd…"_

Phoebe just sighed in disappointment, shaking her head, "Lets go Lila. At this point, it's pointless to argue with her, considering the history between her and Rhonda is never always pleasant." Lila nodded disappointingly, and exited the library alongside with Phoebe. Helga watched them went away while spinning a pencil on her fingers as she scoffed in disbelief.

Arnold and Gerald quickly ran to Curly to help him out. Now curling into fetal position and trembling, he couldn't control himself anymore and tears begun to form in his eyes.

"Poor guy needs help." Arnold said. Suddenly Curly got up and fled away from them and ran outside.

"Curly, wait!" Arnold shouted.

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Any mistakes? Dissatisfied with this chapter? Point it out, give contructive comments and review it. 


	4. Insanity Starts to Play its Role

_Author's Note: _The fourth chapter is up, and Curly is screwed up than ever. Kinda want to build the suspense here.

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**Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.**

Chapter 4: Insanity Starts to Play its Role. 

"Rhonda! Rhonda, wait!" Nadine ran after her best friend, who hastened her way to the ladies room. She violently pushed the door away and went straight to the sink to douse her face with water, trying to cool herself down. With her face soaking wet, she stared at herself in front of the mirror seeing her emotionally tense self, breathing heavily. Nadine went and stood next to her, looking at her worriedly. "Rhonda? Rhonda sweetie, are you okay?" she asked softly as she grabbed Rhonda's left hand and patting it.

"I-I… can't believe I just did that…" Rhonda said in disbelief, stunned.

Seconds later, Phoebe and Lila emerged from the door. Nadine turned her head to them, but Rhonda didn't seem to be bothered by their presence.

"Is she alright?" Lila asked. Nadine wasn't exactly sure herself, and gave them a perturbing look. Phoebe and Lila walked to the two girls and Phoebe put her hand on Rhonda's shoulder. She then echoed Nadine's question. "Are you okay, Rhonda?"

"Yeah…" she replied softly, and then suddenly her disbelief thoughts slowly turned into joy and she turned her face at them with a maniacal smile, "Of course I'm okay! What do you think? He's off my back forever! YES! No more stalking! No more harassment! No more inane words of adoration! No. More. CURLY!!" she said euphorically, and then she pranced her way out of the bathroom singing and humming incoherently.

Nadine, Phoebe and Lila were just stunned in bewilderment at Rhonda's reaction as they look at each other with perplexity on their faces. "I propose that we should treat her to a nice, big piece of pie. What do you say to that, girls?" Phoebe suggested.

"Yes, I agree. Pie will do well to her." Nadine agreed nonchalantly. Lila nodded at the suggestion. "I have to concur, Phoebe."

"Yeah, let's get some pie! Ha-ha! Ha-ha!" Rhonda popped her head back in the bathroom, inviting her friends for a treat.

_"Goodness. And I thought Curly was the only freak around here…"_

---

_After school…___

"And then, BAM! She exploded like some kind of a freaking maniac or something! She grabbed him by his shirt, slammed him against the wall and yells at him like crazy!" Gerald explained to Stinky, Sid and Harold enthusiastically as they and Arnold walked away from school. "And then… heh, heh, here's the killer right here: y'all wanna know what she did to him? She _slapped _him man! It was f'ing insane!"

"Willikers! Too bad we ain't there to see all that." Stinky sighed, disappointed.

"Hey Arnold, you were there, how come you didn't intervene?" Sid asked. "Curly was clearly in need of help." he said as he took a pack of cigarettes from his bag, took one out, lit it up and started to smoke. Arnold had constantly advised him to quit the habit, but it was ignored as it was fallen on deaf ears.

"I wanted to, but I couldn't. I was too stunned, and Rhonda would've ripped me apart if I tried to. She was too angry at him that she couldn't even control herself. Even Helga was scared when she snapped at her."

"EVEN HELGA?!" the three boys responded skeptically in unison. "Man, she's really has gone to the deep end, hasn't she?" Harold added in awe. "Hey, there's Curly!" he said pointing at the depressed Curly crying, sitting on a bench. Curly took a quick glance at them and ran off. "Hey, Curly wait!" Arnold yelled at him. "We wanna help you!" but Curly kept running, ignoring them.

"Poor guy…" Gerald said, looking down and shaking his head. "Hel-lo… what's this?" Gerald picked up a torn picture on the sidewalk.

"Hey, that's Rhonda." Sid identified as he puffed out a cloud of smoke.

"Hey man, could you puff that smoke out ANY nearer?" Gerald scolded him, and picks up yet another piece of the picture.

"Heh, sorry dude. It was an honest mistake. C'mon, don't get _too _pissed about it huh, buddy, pal? I mean, it's not like I smoke pot or anything…" he said with a pathetic grin while patting Gerald's shoulder. Gerald wasn't amused by it a single bit.

"Man, she sure is hot!" Harold said, and everybody gave him an angry glare. "What? I'm just saying!"

Sid just rolled his eyes at Harold reply; he then turned to Stinky, "Psst, Stinky. Should we tell them now?" Sid whispered to him.

"Heck no. This ain't the right time, on account that the thing between Curly and Rhonda just happened." He responded. "And get your head away from me, that damn breath of yours stinks the high heavens. And uh, Sid… you have any cigs left I can bum?"

"Guys, we have to help him out, one way or another." Arnold said in a concerned voice, looking at the street where Curly just had left. "He's totally broken hearted."

---

_That night, at Curly's house…_

"Eww, get away from me, you freak!"

---

I don't like you, so stop touching me with your grimy hands!"

---

"Gross! No way! Absolutely not!"

---

"Listen to me, you slimy piece of ick!"

---

"He's a freak!"

---

"I don't ever, ever, ever want to be with you, ever!"

---

"But then again, everyone will hate me because I broke the little freak's heart!"

---

"Listen to me. I think you're a low down creep. It's over between us. And I don't ever want to be your 'girlfriend' again. Now crawl back under the rock you live again, you slug."

---

"You're the thorn, the scourge, the plague, the pestilence of my life; a FREAKING virus, and I want it to be removed."

---

Rhonda's words of resentment of him repeated in his mind again and again. There he was, sitting on his bed alone staring at his Rhonda shrine in his dark room, slightly illuminated by the moonlight. His adoration for her faded as the minutes went by, and fire of hatred began to engulf ever larger in his heart. Slowly, he picked up the Rhonda pictures he had agonizingly collected and took from the past several years, tore them apart piece by piece and put them all in a tin bucket. The snippets of hair and clothes were also inside. Finally, the framed picture of Rhonda, which he cherished so much, was dropped down into the bucket. He lighted up a match, and hesitantly he dropped it in. The reflection of the raging fire became visible on his glasses, which was also the same feeling he had about Rhonda now, burning with anger, hatred, misery, bitterness, and dejection.

"Curly? Son, are you upstairs? I'm back from the dry cleaners," declared his father from the front entrance of the house. "Mom will be back as soon as she's done grocery shopping." He said as he opened the safe to store the gun. The noise made from the safe echoes to his room and triggers Curly's darker side to life.

"The gun…"

---

_Two days later… at the school cafeteria_

"Boy howdy, just look at the poor bastard. Ever since Rhonda snapped at him, he's been depressed and completely isolating himself from us." Sid said to the gang who was with him, looking at the forlorn Curly sitting alone at the nearby table.

"But what can we do? Even when we wanted to help him out, he just sat there and staring blankly at us without saying anything." Gerald explained.

"Kinda like the fourth grade, isn't it fellers?" Stinky added quickly.

"I don't know you guys. That was then. This is now. I just hope he won't snapped and lock himself inside the Principal's office like he did before." Arnold said with a sigh.

"Nah, I'm sure he won't, and that was a completely different situation. Jeez Arnold, you worry too much," Harold responded to negate Arnold's fears, as he drinks a carton of chocolate milk.

"Hey guys." Somebody greeted at them.

"Hi, Nadine," Sid greeted back on behalf of the gang. "Wanna join us for lunch?"

"Thanks," she replied back, and took a seat next to Gerald and Harold. She then took a look at Curly, feeling sorry for him. "Poor guy…"

Stinky sighed, and said, "Yeah… ever since he got blasted by Rhonda; that is the only thing he does now-a-days, moping around feeling depressed."

"Man, I wonder how Rhonda feels…" Arnold wondered.

"HELLO WORLD!" Rhonda said happily as she suddenly burst through the cafeteria double-doors. Merrily she skipped to the counter to buy some lunch. "Hello, Mrs. Lunch Lady! Nice weather we're having, aren't we?"

The lunch lady grumbled.

"Oh, don't be so sad! Like, let's see your happy face!" she said cheerfully.

Again, the lunch lady grumbled.

"That answers your question, my friend?" Gerald asked Arnold, rather sarcastically.

At a different table, Helga and Phoebe looked at Rhonda with a perplexing look written on their faces.

"You know what, Pheebs?" she said as she munches her sandwich. "As strangely as it sounds, I prefer the old Princess better."

"Although I can't hastily pass my judgment onto someone; I have to admit; she is different than before."

"How about now? Should we tell them now?" Sid whispered to Stinky and Harold.

"No, no, no, hell, no! This ain't the right time!" Harold shouted to Sid.

"Right time for what?" Gerald intruded.

"Uh, to order pizza?" Harold replied nervously. Gerald rolled his eyes, _"Man, those blows he got from those wrestling matches must've screwed his brain up pretty badly." _

After she had paid her lunch, she skipped back, but stopped at her tracks when she noticed Curly was in the cafeteria. "YOU!" she snapped at him, fuming with hatred. Curly looked at her blankly, he stood up and left.

"That's right Curly! Who's the boss around here, HUH?!"

---

Sunday night. It was dark, cold, gloomy and stormy, very much like Curly's emotion. He stood in front of the fireplace, staring at the picture. Midnight just passed, and the dings of the old grandfather clock provoked him more and more to get a hold on the gun as his hands were tingling for it. Slowly, he opened the save and took the gun out. He wielded it to have a feel for it. Then he checked the ammunition inside. None, there weren't any bullets at all. _Damnit__, where does he keep them?" _He was not quite happy about it, and he tapped his finger on the chin thinking thoughtfully, and finally he remembered something. He tiptoed upstairs pass his parents' bedroom, which thankfully were sound asleep, and headed up to the attic. He switched the light on, revealing all sorts of junk that his family had stored inside there from years before. Near the window, there was a small trunk on top of a pile of musty old boxes. He opened it and finally found the thing he had searched.

"One, two for your legs so you wouldn't run away from me… three, four for your hands so you wouldn't push me away… five for your guts, that had the nerve to shout all those nasty things at me… and finally six, you broke my heart, and I will pay the favor back." He soliloquized as he picked the bullets one by one.

"Six will suffice," he said in a malevolent voice, closing his hand and it turned into a fist with the bullets still inside. Outside his house, lightning struck twice, and the drizzling rain quickly turned into a downpour of heavy thunderstorm.

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Kinda makes you want to pray for Rhonda, doesn't it? Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave a review. 


	5. Curly Snaps, Again

_Author's Note: _So it has begun...

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**Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.**

Chapter 5: Curly Snaps, Again.

_The next day in school…_

The bell just rung and the high school students thronged into the hallway, each with their own specific places to go. Rhonda and Arnold joined the crowd, walking next to each other. Arnold was worried about her and Curly, and as the gang's sole mediator which was claimed by his peers, volunteered himself to straighten things up between her and Curly.

"Rhonda, I'm worried. Ever since the library incident you've been acting resentfully at Curly. Can't you just make peace with him?"

"Serves him right, Arnold. That jerk has been bugging me for years and he never gave me a moments' peace and guess what? Ever since I snapped out at him I feel liberated from his clutches. Please take a look from my point of view, Arnold. If someone followed you everyday pestering you and never gave you a moment's peace at all, how would you feel about it?"

"Uhh… well, annoyed, but--"

"My point exactly. Now if you'd excuse me, I'll be heading to the ladies room."

"But Rhonda, that doesn't justify anything." Arnold shot back with a humble voice. "I mean, look at him now. He's a wreck, down in the dumps and he's not talking to anyone anymore. Don't you at least feel a little guilty about it?"

"I don't. Believe me Arnold, I don't." Rhonda replied back dryly. Arnold stopped walking, but Rhonda continued on and left him behind. He looked down at the floor with a heavy sigh, shook his head and walked off to Nadine and Gerald, who had been waiting for him at a gazebo outside the school.

"How did it go?" Nadine asked with a concerned voice.

"Terrible." Arnold answered it short. He then took a seat next to a pile of books that Nadine had borrowed from the library. "I think we should give them time, like about two weeks or so for things to cool down."

"I hope so. I've been calling her everyday asking her to patch things up with Curly, but she just ignores it. I just don't know what to do with her anymore. Just look at what she did to him." Nadine sighed.

"You got that right Miss Nadine," someone concurred, "Because of her, Curly ain't talkin' to no one no more. How am I suppose do our project without him?" it was Stinky, with Sid and Harold tailing him.

"Where did you guys come from?" Gerald asked them. They didn't answer back.

"Go on tell him, it's been several days now for cripes sake," said Sid to Harold, elbowing him softly.

"Tell us what?" Arnold asked.

"Uh, Arnold… guys, there's something important we hafta tell you…" Harold confessed, finally, rubbing the back of his neck. And then he, Sid and Stinky started to tell to Arnold, Gerald and Nadine about their experience when they were in Curly's house and how it may have connected to his behavior that they've noticed in the pass few days.

Nadine gasped, "OH MY GOD!" she placed her hands over her mouth.

"A shrine?!" Gerald responded in skepticism.

"GUN?!" Arnold spurted out. "This is serious you guys! No wonder he has been acting strangely lately. Rhonda's life could be in danger!"

Meanwhile inside the school, Curly was waiting patiently for Rhonda to finish with her business. He leaned against the wall next to the bathroom door so that Rhonda wouldn't see him when she push the door away. He knew she would be there, thanks to all the stalking he did before. A few rooms away, inside a computer lab, Eugene and Sheena was inside doing their latest computing project.

"Sheena, would you please pass me that PHP book on your table?" he asked with a soft welcoming voice.

"Certainly, Eugene." she replied back, and gave Eugene the book he requested. After he had found what he was searching for in the book, he rested it on the table and continued to type on. After a few lines written, he stopped and turned his head towards Sheena. Eugene looked a lot geekier in high school, wearing glasses with an interesting looking frame, bad acne littered his face, and wearing office attire that would make the business world proud. He said that this look would make him look more professional. A computer geek he was, but his heart was still for the theatres; singing and dancing, hopefully that he would make a breakthrough in Broadway someday. Sheena had become quite thin due to the vegetarian diet she took. Her hair didn't change much, apart than it grew longer. Some hippie influence on her attire was visible, considering with the colorful flower shirt and the long skirt and all.

"I'm going to the machine and buy me a drink. You want something?"

"A Dr. Pepper for me please," Sheena requested. Eugene nodded, and got off from his seat and proceeded to the vending machine, humming a song he had sung in his fourth grade school play, _Keep Your Sunny Side Up_, which still holds dearly in his heart. If his friends knew about it, they're going to laugh at him for sure…

Cut back to Arnold and Gerald, who were at each other's throat, "You're talking crazy here Arnold! Are you suggesting that Curly wants to kill Rhonda!?" Gerald snapped viciously.

"History can repeat itself Gerald. Remember the standoff in Principal Wartz's room? He snapped, and he did something that nobody would've ever _thought _of doing!"

"You're crazy man! You're not being realistic! You are _WAY_ over the line! As insane as Curly is, he would never do such a thing like that!"

Back inside the school, the door opened up and Rhonda walked away without noticing Curly was next to it. His hands were itching to get a hold of the gun, perfectly concealed inside of his bag. He let Rhonda walked off for a while, and then he followed her from behind. Hastily he opened his bag and took the gun out, with Rhonda still unaware of his presence. He pointed the gun at her legs. Everyone there minded their own business, and they didn't notice Curly with the gun in his hand.

"GUN! HE HAS A GUN!" shouted someone. It was Eugene, pointing shakily at Curly. Everyone in the hallway turned their heads to him, even Rhonda too. Everyone was too stunned to say or do anything.

"Shit." He cursed silently. In realization that any further delay would spell jeopardy to his plan, he quickly released two shots at Rhonda, and both of it hit directly at her legs. Rhonda grunted and groaned in pain as the result of the gunshot. The sound the gunshot made echoed all the way through the school and went to the exterior startling everyone everywhere.

"What's that!?" the gang at the gazebo said collectively in shock, and everyone turned their heads to the school building.

The noise the gunshot made switched everyone's panic button on, and the hallway erupted in a frenzy of horror. It's everyone for themselves as they ran away from Curly. In the panicked hallway, people bumped onto each other and one of them knocked onto Curly, and he fell down with the gun. The gun spun around away from him, and finally laid inanimately on the floor, until was kicked away by the frightened students from Curly again, again, and again until it was out of his sight. Rhonda took the opportunity to go prone and crawl away as far from him as possible. Her legs can't help her now.

"Guys, I'm going in! I'm going to save Rhonda!" Arnold said boldly, although he sounded very nervous.

"WHAT?!" the gang reacted in chorus.

"How'd you know that's Rhonda in trouble?! For all we know, it could be somebody else!" Stinky said.

"I don't know… I can't tell you why, but my instinct tells me she's is in trouble. I can feel it. I'm sorry, I _have_ to go!" Arnold responded.

"Arnold! I know you're the most trustworthy and the boldest guy around but _PLEASE_ listen to reason! Even _if_ Rhonda is inside with Curly trying to kill her, keep in mind that he _HAS_ a gun with him!!" Gerald said to snap Arnold back to reality.

"I know, but I'm going to be very careful. Besides, I'm probably the only person in the whole school that Curly would listen to. If nobody won't help her out, then who will?!" he said, and he ran off to the school building. _"I'm going to hate you for this, Rhonda."_

"Wait! Come back!" Nadine pleaded, but Arnold kept going. They couldn't swallow the fact that Arnold was actually going to risk his neck for someone else.

"Aww, man. Damn it Arnold. Why man? _Why? Why_ do you have to be so bold? _Why_ do you _always _have to do the right thing?" Gerald smacked his forehead, hissing in disbelief. "Bold…" he said under his breath. Instinctively and hesitantly, he went after Arnold. _"You're going to owe me BIG time, man!"_

"Gerald!!" Nadine cried out and tried to run after him, but Harold manages to catch her in time and tried his best to hold her back while Stinky and Sid tried to calm her down.

"Don't stop me, PLEASE! LET ME GO, HAROLD! _LET ME GO!!_" she shouted. She was struggling to get free from them, but failed. Then she finally gave up, slumming in Harold's clutches, and caved in. She cried and wailed, turned around to Harold and hit him repeatedly on the shoulder.

"I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU!" she shouted brokenly at Harold, crying and sobbing.

Harold then tried to soothe her by hugging. She responded back by crying on his shoulder, clutching him tightly. "It's okay. It's okay… Have some faith; it's going to be alright." Harold said to calm her down. Stinky was touched, seeing that Harold had become a very compassionate person suddenly; which he usually doesn't. Sid on the other hand, was extremely nervous. With his hands trembling violently, he took a cigarette out and lit it up, hoping that it'll calm him down.

As he ran, Gerald quickly grabbed his cellphone from his pocket and dialed 911.

"911, what is your emergency?" an operator answered.

"Yeah, this is Gerald Johanssen on the line. I want to report a shooting spree happening in my school. _Please _send some SWAT teams and paramedics, quick!"

"This is the third call we got so far… okay Gerald, stay calm, could you tell me how does the situation look like? Do you know where the assailant is?"

At the school courtyard, teenagers from every race and creed fled in terror away from the building. Two familiar faces got away unharmed, and they stopped at the end of the courtyard for a breather. "Whew!" Helga huffed. "I never would've thought this would happen to our school!"

"Just be thankful that we got out alive and unhurt, Helga." Phoebe panted for air. "But we're not safe yet. Let's make a run inside that building over there." She pointed out at the abandoned tenement just a couple of blocks away.

"Didn't anybody tell you that place is a crackhouse, Pheebs?"

"Well, do you have any suggestions in particular?"

"Anywhere as long we're safe! Come on!" Just as they were about to run, Arnold sped off pass them.

"Arnold?! What the… where the hell are you going?!" Helga shouted.

"I'm going in to save Rhonda!"

"WHAT!?" Helga shouted in disbelief. "W-WAIT!" but Arnold ignored her and squeezed his way through the panicking crowd.

"Gerald?!" Phoebe said incredulously.

"Can't talk right now, Phoebe! I'm going to save Arnold!" he said hastily as he went after Arnold. "Head to the gazebo! The guys are there!" Gerald shouted again, instructing them to join with the others. "Gerald, NO!!" Phoebe cried out. Inside, in the midst of the chaos of the stampeding pupils, Arnold spotted Eugene running away for his dear life and called after him.

"Eugene! Eugene! Do you know where Rhonda is?!" he shouted from afar, hoping for an answer.

Thankfully, Eugene heard Arnold's indistinct voice, "Second floor, at the east wing near the girls' restroom! Be careful, Curly's there and he's got a gun with him!" he shouted back. Arnold was right all along, Rhonda _was_ in danger. And because Eugene had his eyes concentrated on Arnold, he ran into a wall in front of him rather violently, and blood began to run down from his nose. "I'm okay…"

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On the next chapter it'll be confrontation between Arnold and Curly, where he'll try to negotiate and reason with him to snap back. Be sure to read the continuation and please leave a review! 


	6. The Confrontation

_Author's Note: _Yes, I am well aware that I'm treading through dangerous waters here since this concerns a sensitive issue and all, but I won't go too far, I have my limits. In an unrelated rant, as a FireFox user, I find that the 2.0 version of Quickedit is very buggy and I have to result using the intolerable garbage that is Internet Explorer.

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 **Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.**

Chapter 6: The Confrontation.

It was dead silent inside the hallway, just as dead as Curly's sanity. But the silence was broken by a loud bang. Curly had emptied a trash can and threw it at the lockers on the opposite side. The floor was littered with garbage and filth. He was thrashing the hallway frantically in search of his gun. "I know you can't run _that_ far away with _those _legs of yours my love!" he shouted maniacally. "Besides, you left your blood trail, so it will be easy for me to track you down just as soon as I find my gun! AS SOON AS I FIND MY GUN! AHAHAHAHA!!" he laughed madly. Rhonda could heard the echoes of Curly's words clearly inside a locked classroom, trembling in fear, whimpering. Thankfully it was the art class. After she got in, she locked the door and searched for a strong cloth, such as canvas, to wrap it around her legs to make the bleeding stop. Back to Curly, he looked behind another trash can, and finally he found what he was searching for. "Ah, here it is! I'm coming at you!" he said as he grabbed the gun. Back to Rhonda again, she gripped her lips, inhaling and exhaling heavily, fearful of the deranged madman.

"Curly!" Somebody shouted from afar. Curly turned around, it was Arnold. "It's me, Arnold. I'm unarmed, and I want to help you." He said as he stepped over ever closer to him slowly, with his hands up in the air. He knew that Rhonda was safe for the time being, for he saw the trail of blood too (meaning that she was still alive) but he did not know for how long; she could be bleeding to death. He must act quickly. Curly was too deranged for him to launch anything sudden, so he tried to cool him down by doing whatever Curly asked him to do.

"Stop right there, Arnold." Curly ordered dryly. Arnold obliged, stopping about three yards away from him. "I wasn't expecting you come here and interrupt me since, this is between me and Rhonda. I find it funny Arnold. You're risking your life to save her from me, and yet you didn't save me from her when we were at the library? What do you want to do? Give me advice? Hoping for me to come back to my senses? Heh." He scoffed. "I don't think so."

Too late for him to pull Arnold back, Gerald hid at the nearby corner leaning against the wall, completely unseen to Arnold and Curly. He was breathing heavily, beads of sweat started to form on his forehead and praying that Arnold wouldn't say something stupid. Arnold's reasoning talk begun, as Gerald and Rhonda listened to each and every word of it. _"Arnold, I really hope you know what you're doing…"_

"Curly, you're not being rational. What drives you to this madness? Why do you want to kill her? She never did anything to you to deserve a fate like this…" he tried to ease his way in.

"HAH! That's what you think! You just don't know how I felt when she said all that in the library. It was not just my heart she broke, but also my soul itself. You wanna know why I loved her so much Arnold? It was more than skin deep. I love her for what she is. She is the girl of my dreams man; she's smart, she's beautiful, chic, sharp and intelligent…"

"And that's the sole reason to justify it?" Arnold spat back, quizzically.

"I'm not finished damnit, there's more. When I was in kindergarten, all of the kids ridiculed and shunned me because they thought that I was insane, a freak, a loon. And then when I was in the first grade, I saw her; she was the first girl who greeted me in school, and she saw me as a person, an individual, and not a freak. Rhonda thought I was cute. It was love at first sight Arnold. Every recess she and I would sit together and have lunch together. I don't know, maybe she was the only one who saw the real person behind this screwed up, crazy demeanor that all of you are grown to know. She was the first person to see the real me behind the mask. I thought we were meant for each other."

But then his voice became harsh, "And then came that one day, one UNFORTUNATE day: The day when she found a group of people that had the same traits with her. A group of wealthy, rich people. At first, I didn't care, it's okay as long as she's happy, but she then spent more time with them than me, and she began to distant herself from me. But I fought back, I tried to be nice by being by her side and talk nice things about her, but she did not appreciate it and then she started to ignore me. She abandoned me. She betrayed me. I just didn't know why, but I did keep being nice, but she always answered with a scoff, a scowl and a scorn. It was so abrupt, that I thought to myself, maybe by hanging out with those scumbags, they manipulated her into hating me. And I was right, but the damage had already been done. But, I never gave up on her. I never gave up on her because I love her so much."

Rhonda couldn't believe her ears when heard the confession.

"Then what she did to me last week was totally unacceptable. She shot me with her venomous words, and I felt heartbroken, empty, sad, miserable, and depressed. I'm practically dead inside, Arnold… Nevertheless, she will pay back. It's an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. I will shoot her back, but not with words, but with this here gun." He said spitefully, slowly lifting the gun up.

"Come on man, be reasonable! Are you crazy?! You're smarter than this! You want to kill her just because she yelled a few things at you? You could just talk to her about it!"

"Always the diplomat aren't you, Arnold? But then again, yes, I am crazy. Crazy enough to do it."

"Then what happens after she dies, Curly? Huh? What will people think of you? What about your parents? _Her_ parents? Do you want Rhonda to curse your name in her afterlife?"

"_DON'T_ give me that afterlife junk Arnold."

"If you love her so much, you shouldn't be doing this. No…"

"After all the things she had done to me? Do you think I am still in _love_ with her!?" Curly spat back viciously.

"Think about it, Curly. Think about it. _Please _don't_ do_ this."

Enough was enough. Curly couldn't bear listening to him any longer, and he pointed his gun at him. "This shot is not meant for you, Arnold." Arnold's eyes widened, he felt the colors flushed from his face. He feared the worst.

_WHACK!_

Curly fell down to the ground, instantly unconscious.

"Helga?!" Arnold shouted in disbelief. She came from out of nowhere.

Indeed it was Helga, barely holding a large, thick, heavy hardcover book, smiling at it, "Heh, I always knew this book about tax laws would come in handy someday. I mean, you could kill an elephant with it." She then looked at Arnold as she dropped the book on Curly's head. "You're okay, Arnold?" she asked.

Still stunned, it took awhile for Arnold to reply back, "Yeah… yeah. I'm okay," He replied finally as he slowly lowered his hands down. "What are you doing here?"

Helga chose not to answer that, "where's Rhonda?" she asked, dodging Arnold's question.

"I dunno. Let us hope that she's safe…" he turned his head at the unconscious Curly. "What should we do with him?"

"Leave him there," she said, as she kicked the gun away. "He should be peachy here until the cops come."

"I hope so… come on, let's go find Rhonda." Arnold said. Helga nodded, as they walked away from the unconscious Curly. Gerald was contemplating whether he should get out from hiding. Rhonda on the other hand, felt like she wanted to shout for help.

Suddenly, a cocking noise was heard, and Arnold instantly turned around.

Curly got back up!

"NO!!" Arnold shouted, and he pushed Helga behind him. Curly pulled the trigger and the bullet struck Arnold's left shoulder, piercing him through and scraped Helga's left arm a bit. Arnold groaned in pain and had his other hand pressed against the wound to avoid more blood to rush out. Helga quickly pressed the wounded arm with her other hand.

_"He… he saved me…"_

Gerald was shocked. Rhonda cried more upon hearing the shot.

"Hmm… how 'bout that. Two birds with one stone." Curly said emotionlessly. Helga caught Arnold just in time before he feel completely down to the floor. Curly decided not to waste any more bullets on them. "Shame, truly. If only I had more bullets…"

Helga said through her clenching teeth, "Why you son of a—"

"Tut-tut toots," Curly cut her off, "You wouldn't want to get shot again, would you? What, you think that little book of yours would stop me?"

"Curly… Please… don't do this…!" Arnold said weakly while coughing blood out as Helga tried to pull him to the wall.

Fearing for her life and wasn't thinking clearly, Rhonda crawled her way out from the room hurriedly. Curly heard the echoed sound of the shutting door, and he abruptly turned his face to Arnold and said, "Sorry Arnold, I wish we could continue this conversation, but I have a damsel to shoot." He then left Arnold and Helga with their wounds.

Still skeptical whether Curly had left, Gerald stuck his head out a little to have a peek at the hallway where Arnold and Curly had the confrontation. Curly had indeed left, leaving Arnold leaning against the wall moaning in pain and Helga was sitting on the floor pressing her arm so no blood would come out.

"Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" Gerald panicked as he looked at them. He had to act fast. Without any choice, he removed his sweater (the one that Phoebe liked) and ripped it into two. He then applied the sweater on their wounds.

"No, Gerald, no! Arrgh…" Arnold groaned from the pain, "We'll be all right, just go and save Rhonda first!"

"But what about you and Helga? Look at you guys, you're bleeding heavily!"

"Never mind us! It'll be all over for Rhonda if Curly finds her first!"

"Yeah, just go Gerald!" Helga agreed.

Gerald nodded. Just as he was about to get up, a SWAT team member fully clad in black outfit, face mask, and a Kevlar vest pointed his submachine gun at the teens. Gerald held up his hands.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, hey, don't shoot man, I'm just helping my friends out. They got shot." Gerald clarified his presence.

The SWAT member stared at them for a moment, and relayed information to his teammates through his communicator, "Hub, this is Alpha Three; two students are down at the East Wing, second floor near the stairs. Requesting immediate assistance, over." He looked at them again, "you kids know where the shooter gone to?"

Arnold and Helga were too preoccupied with the wound when Curly had left them, so they didn't know, and shook their head. Gerald had no clue since he was behind the wall at all the time.

"Damn it," he muttered under his breath, but then he saw the blood trail, "help your friends out, and get out of here. We'll take it from here." he ordered Gerald, and walked away from them, one footstep at a time, so he wouldn't make a sound.

The echoes of the footsteps were getting louder and nearer. Ronda couldn't bear any longer the excruciating pain coming from her legs, now sat helplessly on the floor leaning against a row of lockers. She was cursing to herself; she shouldn't have come out from the safeness of the classroom she was in earlier. Across the hallway, there was Curly, walking towards her slowly.

"Curly?" Rhonda called, softly and shaken. He stopped in his tracks, only in a few steps away from her.

"Curly… please… I beg you… stop it. Stop… this madness…" she pleaded for her life. Terrified, shaken as she clutched her bleeding legs with her arms, she hoped that Curly would come back to his senses. She must be mad herself to think she would make Curly stop this insanity. A perfect portrait of a psychotic freak. He stared at her terrified face impassively. She was crying, shaken, sweating, had her teeth gripped her lips, her eyes darted in every direction in searching for a miracle, and she had her hands pressed against the bullet wounds to fight the agony of the pain. "Please… please f-forgive me, Curly…" she pleaded and wept for an apology, hoping the rather futile attempt would knock Curly back to his senses.

He had already used a bullet at Arnold and Helga, two for Rhonda's legs, and the final three will be targeted at her right arm, her guts and finally, her heart. He gazed at her for a while, and lifts the gun to point at her, cocking the gun. She braced herself for the inevitable, and finally she tightly closed both her eyes and had her head facing away from the gun.

_"Then what happens after she dies, Curly? Huh? What will people think of you? What about your parents? Her parents? Do you want Rhonda to curse your name in her afterlife?" _

The first gunshot was released.

_"If you love her so much, you shouldn't be doing this. No."_

Then the second shot.

_Think about it, Curly. Think about it. Please don't do this."_

Finally, the third.

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Another cliffhanger from me, and I won't tell you what happened to Rhonda. You'll just have to wait for the next chapter.Oh, if you found an error please point it out and leave a review. Until then, adieu. 


	7. The Aftermath

_Author's Note: _Well, I hope all of you'll be satisfied with this chapter.My other fic will be updated soon. And hey, they fixed the Firefox bug!  
**

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Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.**

Chapter 7: The Aftermath

Complete silence what seemed to be forever.

She expected the worst, but it did not come. She hardly felt any pain at all. With her shaken arms, she rubbed her clothes, but nothing was damaged, she was not mortally wounded, and there were no drops of blood whatsoever, except the ones that was on her hands and her legs. She then finally had the courage to open her eyes and look directly at Curly. Indeed it was he who opened fire, with the gun barrel still smoking, but it was not her who was the target, but rather, the row of lockers behind her. Hyperventilating, she then gazed at Curly back, still confused by his action. _"But… why?_ _Did he miss me? Impossible… he's at point blank. Or Arnold really did manage to talk some sense into him?" _Curly then dropped the gun, and then himself, kneeling and weeping on the floor. "I'm sorry Rhonda… I'm so… _sorry-y-y_…" he sobbed, clasping his hands over his face.

"FREEZE!!" a SWAT police barked, pointing his gun at him. Curly didn't seem to notice nor care the SWAT member's presence, and continued to weep. Carefully, the SWAT guy slowly walked over towards Rhonda, and kicked the gun away from Curly. He then went in front of Rhonda, shielding her away from Curly and relayed orders to his teammates to his location. Seconds later, a group of SWAT team, all twelve of them, surrounded Curly with each pointing their guns at him. "Please… just take me away…" Curly pleaded.

The scene was chaotic outside the school, with students and emergency personnel scurrying to help each other out. There were students who were injured while fleeing away from school, such as suffering from bruises from being hit, broken bones, and being trampled on. At an ambulance, there was Arnold, surrounded by his friends to say goodbye to him before they'll take him away to the hospital. Helga's wound was less bad and easier to manage, so she was treated on the spot, and now brandishing a sling.

"Don't worry guys, I'm gonna be fine… it's just a flesh wound." Arnold said weakly, trying to calm his friends down.

"My friend, I'm gonna visit you each and everyday until you're completely healed." Assured Gerald, and they did their best friend handshake.

"Thanks Gerald, you're a pal."

Suddenly, Helga jumped in and shoved Gerald out of the away. "Move it, short-hair boy! Please football head, just promise us you'll be back again on your two feet, okay?" she said with a heavy concern. Everybody turned their heads to her, puzzled at Helga's sudden softy personality. Helga looked at them back worrisome, as she tried to find a justifiable excuse, "_WHAT? _Just because I hate the little yutz that doesn't mean I'm cold and heartless!" she retorted back angrily.

"Helga… thanks for your concern. That's awfully nice of you…" Arnold said, trailing off weakly. She then smiled broadly and looked dreamily at him, as her eyes began to brim with tears. _"Arnold, I love you. Please don't go away…"_

"Okay kids, we have to go now." said the paramedic.

"Can I go with you guys?" Gerald asked.

"Eh, why not? He could use a company. Hop in."

The gang backed away from the vehicle to make room for the paramedic to close the door. Then the ambulance left, with everyone looking at it. Helga really wanted to go with them, but she had a reputation to keep. Maybe she might find some time later for herself and her beloved just together, without anyone in sight.

After the ambulance disappeared from their view, Nadine turned away back looking at the school building, with her eyes still red after the crying before. Rhonda still hadn't show up, but Nadine still hoped that Rhonda was okay. At the main entrance of the school, she saw something that what could finally answer her question, "Look! They're bringing someone out! It's… it's… Oh my God, it's Rhonda!" Nadine shouted, pointing at her best friend on the stretcher. The whole gang ran to her, with Nadine ahead of them.

"Oh my… Rhonda, _please_ tell me you're okay! PLEASE!" Nadine shouted, crying again once more and tightly grasping Rhonda's arms. "No need to shout Nadine… I'm- I'm okay." She said with a weak smile. "I'm gonna make it."

"I really hope so, Rhonda, I really hope so… Don't you realize I was so worried about you!?" she said, calmer after been assured by Rhonda. Rhonda smiled and chuckled back at her, and her eyes begin to brim with tears. "Where's Arnold?" she said worriedly.

"Football head got shot in the shoulder, unfortunately. But don't worry, the meds are taking him to the hospital now." Helga quickly replied, with a rather worrisome tone.

"Oh, Lord… is he hurt? And why you have that sling around your arm? Are you okay?"

"Well duh, Princess. What, you think he could dodge bullets?" she said, trying hard to conceal her real feelings about Arnold. "And about this sling, I was inside, just don't ask why."

"You were inside? What were you trying to do? Save me?"

"Hah! You wish," She snorted, and paused for a moment, "But hey, stay tough, alright? You're gonna be fine."

Rhonda chuckled, "Don't worry about it, I will be. Hey, wait a minute… you're worried about me? Oh my God, I can't even believe you're actually talking to me, Pataki." She released a weak smile.

"Shit, even I can't believe I said that either." Helga said back, with a soft snicker. "I'm glad that you're alive, Princess." Nadine also smiled, to the fact that the two bitter rivals were actually relieved for each other.

"Hey, where's Curly?" Harold said in the midst of the chaos.

"We got him!" shouted a SWAT member from the school's front door. There he was, that psychopath Curly, handcuffed, beaten and defeated. He lowered his head down to conceal his face from the nosy eyes of the press' camera. As he walked down the painful steps to the police car, he noticed his friends some yards away from him and gazed at them with his pitiful face in hoping for some sympathy. But all of them glared back at him in extreme detest. Sid even flipped the bird at him while Nadine cursed him with profanities. Of all people - Rhonda, whom he tried to kill earlier, was the only person who sympathies him, judging from the looks of her face.

---

"Although we have sufficient evidences to support the allegation, but due to the absentee of key victims and witnesses, I hereby put Thaddeus Gammelthorpe—"

"That's CURLY to you, you incompetent twit!"

The dark skinned, middle-aged judge snapped back, "One more outburst from _you_ and we _WILL _make changes to the—" he stopped abruptly, sighing. "Why do I even bother…"

Again, with a sigh, the judge continued, "Mr. Thaddeus 'CURLY' Gammelthrope into a mental facility for…"

The courtroom erupted with murmurs and whispers of disbelief and agreement.

"…he is accused of attempting to murder plaintiffs Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, Helga Geraldine Pataki and Arnold—"

Somebody in the courtroom sneezed, making the last name to be unheard.

"However…" but the room ignored the remark. "HOWEVER…" the judge tried again, with a louder, hardened tone. The courtroom gradually went silent again.

"…because of his status as a minor, therefore the court will impose a more lenient status on him, furthermore considering the fact that he was just recently diagnosed with mental instability and insanity. Juvenile Hall is ruled out due to his insanity status. And after the victims have recovered from their wound and illness and they all have been approved fit by the hospital, they will assist the Court to have Mr. Gammelthrope be trial under the Juvenile Ruling under State Law."

"I now hereby sentence you Mr. Gammelthrope to all of the aforementioned ruling. A new trial in which the victims are to be testified will begin soon after they are discharged from the hospital or in five weeks time from now. The court is dismissed." And the judge pounded the gavel twice, thus finalizing the verdict.

"Huzzah! Woo-hoo! I'm not going to fry on the chair! Thank God this is not Texas!" Curly lifted his hands up into the air and shouting loudly, puzzling some of the people inside the courtroom. Curly's mother began to cry as his father tried to console her up. Some of the people inside couldn't help but to feel sorry for the deranged teen, while others agreed that he got what he deserves. But there were others who were not agreeing with it at all, namely the Lloyds with their attorneys.

"Judge, I beg of you, will you _please_ reconsider? For God's sake man, that insane maniacal kid tried to kill my daughter!!"

"Then you'll just have to wait for another five weeks, Mr. Lloyd. As of now, there's nothing you can do. If I were you, I'd consult my lawyers for—."

"WHAT?! I won't have _this_! This is injustice! I want him to get prosecuted right now! I _want_ that bastard kid—"

"HEY! Don't you _DARE _call my son that!" Mr. Gammelthorpe shouted infuriately at Buckley Lloyd, as he stomped his way angrily over to him.

"He _DESERVES _to be called that since the father couldn't even raise his own _damned _son right!" Buckley retorted back.

"Gentlemen, please…" the judge tried to calm them down, but failed.

"If it wasn't for _YOUR _arrogant, self-centered, stuck-up daughter, which I believe that she got her traits from _you_, my son wouldn't turn out to be like this, asshole!"

Both of them couldn't control their fury and anger any longer, and rather than trying to settle it down like civilized people, they settled the fuming dialogue with breaking a fist fight in the middle of the courtroom instead. Their respective wives, the bailiffs, and their legal aids tried to quell down the scuffle, desperately trying to pull them away from each other.

"You won't hear the last of me, Lloyd!" Mr. Gammelthorpe shouted angrily at him, while trying to break free from the people who were dragging him away from Buckley.

"Likewise!" Buckley retorted back. The other party did the same too, dragging Buckley away from him.

Curly watched the whole scene as he was being escorted out by the bailiffs. He let a scoff out and said to himself, "Pssh, stupid people and their stupid rules. The world would be a whole lot better if I were the ruler of the world."

---

"Uh-huh… yes… certainly. See you later, Gerald." Phoebe then hung up her cellphone. "You were saying, Helga?" Phoebe had called Gerald to inform him that they are going to the hospital to visit Arnold. Although this had been Phoebe's third visit, it was the first for Helga.

"Remember Pheebs, NOT. A WORD." Helga warned.

"Quieting." She chimed back.

"By the way, why the hell do we have to take the bus? I mean, I'm feeling like an idiot hauling these flowers around. Can we just take a cab or ask your mom to drive us there?"

"Well, for one thing, the bus fare is much cheaper than a taxi's, and taxi drivers in this city usually swindle their passengers by taking the longest route possible. Besides, mother is busy with that new real estate client, so that nulls her out. If you're complaining that much, why do you still insist on carrying it? And must my reiterate that your arm is not completely healed yet?"

"It's still better than getting yourself humiliated by bringing these flowers inside the bus. And what are you talking about Pheebs, my arms are completely fine."

She sighed, caved in on Helga rather irrelevant excuse, "Sure Helga, whatever you say." Phoebe said and Helga rolled her eyes. After a few minutes, a bus arrived at the stop, and they boarded in. To their surprise, Nadine was inside, looking rather tense. They then took a seat behind her.

"Good afternoon, Nadine." Phoebe greeted. "What a coincidence that we should met here."

"How ya doin'?" Helga made to the point swiftly.

"I'm okay, I guess. Say, what's with the flowers and chocolates?" She asked, out of curiosity. Phoebe was holding a box of chocolates in her hands.

"It's a gift to a peer of ours, a 'Get Well Soon' gift if you will."

"You guys are going to the hospital?"

"No Nadine," Helga suddenly interjected, "we're going to La-la Land to give out pretty flowers and delicious chocolates to all good little boys and girls." She said sarcastically. "DUH, of course we're going to the hospital. We're going to visit Ar… uh, friend of ours."

"Really…?" Nadine said teasingly with a wide smirk, "I wonder who might that be?"

"Uh… well…"

"I think you get the idea, Nadine." Phoebe winked at her.

"Right," she replied with a smile. "By the way, be sure to visit Rhonda, okay? That's where I'm going."

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All right, that's how it's done. You know, I wouldn't kill a character because I'm such a softy, and besides, it's not very Hey Arnold like. Found an error? Disatisfied? Leave a review, preferably a contructive one or a complaint even. I appreciate both. By the way, have you guys watch The Incredibles yet? If you haven't I suggest you to switch your computer off right now and go to the nearest cinema and watch it! 


	8. The Hospital

_Author's Note: _Despite the tragedy of the two previous chapters, I'm trying to paint a more off-beat, laid back atmosphere in this chapter, just to balance things up. And in this chapter, there's a major revelation from a certain character, just to stir things up.

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**Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.**

Chapter 8: The hospital

_At a medical center…_

"Well Arnold, I'm excited to say that the wound of yours is recovering well ahead of schedule. And if it's continuing at this rate, you'll be out from the hospital by the end of next week." The veteran Dr. Steiglitz informed the teenage Arnold in his old, tired voice.

"Oh, jeez." Grandpa rolled his wrinkled eyes. "How long you've been in this hospital now, Arnold? A little shy over five weeks? And that little cut is going to take yet another week? Tsk, tsk, tsk. Your body is too frail. I'm telling ya, short-man, that wound on that arm of yours is nothing compared to MY bullet wound, and guess what? It took only a week for it tofully recover." He said it proudly.

_"Well grandpa, you didn't get shot at point blank…"_

Nevertheless, Arnold was taken aback by his grandfather's remark. "You got shot, grandpa? When? You never told me this before."

"Oh, boy... Here we go again." Miles rolled his eyes, as her wife Stella looking at him with a half-smile.

"You still don't believe me, eh boy?" He pointed his cane at his son. His aging body had gone considerably weaker since the past several years, but he was still healthy as a horse, nonetheless. "Well, it doesn't matter now, because I have a grandson and his friend here for me to tell my story and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"What exactly happened, Phil?" Gerald asked him with curiosity.

"Didn't I tell you not to call me Phil?! Anyway, during the Second World War, there I was in a place called Brecourt Manor, where the boys of the 101st Airborne and I were trying to destroy the German artillery guns. Gunfire crackles from everywhere, bullets whizzing from left and right of you, big booms came from the artillery, it was frantic I tells ya! But…" he paused for dramatic effect, "I saw one of my pals wounded, and he was lying in a middle of a crossfire! So, went over to him as fast as fast as I could and carried him into the trench that I was in earlier! Then, all of a sudden, a bullet struck my butt, knocking me and my buddy down! But thankfully, we were near the trench so the other guys grabbed us in and then a medic came and help us up."

"Wow, that's very brave of you grandpa. So what happened to that guy you rescued?"

"He got ran over by a drunk marine just a week after the battle." He uttered nonchalantly.

"Ouch. That's terrible."

"So, then I got decommissioned and I have to stay in camp peeling potatoes for the rest of my days in Europe. And then I single-handedly won the Battle of the Bulge by kicking the Fuhrer in the nuts!"

"Grandpa…"

"Oh, yeah. You've heard of that story before. Well, anyway, that ends that little story of mine. And try finding a moral behind it while you're at it."

Miles grinned at his father, who still had the guts trying to fool his son by telling the same old fake story. He never did participate in the battle that he told earlier, he came to Europe later as a replacement. Phil noticed the smug grin on Miles' face, and thought to himself to play some snide jokes on him and the rest of the people in the room.

"You still don't believe me, do ya?! I still have the scars to prove it! Wanna see it?!" He then clutched his pants, ready to pull it down. But everyone in Arnold's ward room shouted a loud "NO!" in a stressful tone.

"He, he, thought so." He then released his hands off from his pants.

"Jeez, Phil. Nobody wants to see that." Phil's wife Gertrude scoffed at him.

"Well, I guess we'll better be going honey. Hope you'll get well soon." Stella said to his son, as she stroked his long cornflower hair.

"I'll be fine mom. Don't worry about me much." Arnold gave him a warm smile as an assurance, and she replied it back. "I have to worry honey, you're my only child."

"Ah, don't be so overprotective on the boy, honey. He's tough as nails, just like his old man!" his father interjected.

Her mother smiled, and turned her face to Gerald, "Gerald, want us to give you a lift back home?"

"No thanks, Mrs. S. Phoebe just called and she said she wants to come over here with Helga. I… I want to see Pheebs for a while." He declined the offer politely.

She gave his son a soft peck on the forehead, "Sounds okay to me. You two take care now. Bye-bye honey, I'll come back again tomorrow." She waved at him as the rest of his family walked out from the ward, leaving Gerald, Arnold and Dr. Steiglitz in the room.

"Momma's boy." Gerald teased, smiling.

"Shut up, Gerald." Arnold said back.

---

_Outside the hospital…_

"I told you we should've moved away a long time ago! Now look at our son, Miles! Look at him! He got shot by of all people, his friend! HIS FRIEND!" she screamed loudly, and then her voice started to trail off melancholically, "Thank God our baby is alive… I-I don't want to lose him again Miles, please! Really, I don't want to! It's horrible for me enough to be absent from his childhood where he needed us the most!" she said with a broken voice, sobbing. She then hugged her husband tightly, crying.

"Okay… okay, Stella. God I was so stupid." He offered comfort to her, "You were right, and I was wrong. Oh God, what was I thinking earlier?"

Grandpa and Grandma, who were walking behind them, were looking at each other worriedly.

---

Suddenly the phone rang, Arnold tried to pick the phone up but the wound prevented his movement.

"What did I tell you about not moving your arm so much?" Dr. Steiglitz scolded him.

"It's okay, man. Let me get it for you." Gerald then walked to other side and picked the phone up.

"Arnold's temporary dwelling. This is his man Gerald speaking."

"Hi Gerald. How's Arnold doing?"

"Hey, 'sup Rhonda? He's doing just fine. How about you?"

"Not good. Like, the food here is appalling! I mean, yeckh! Where did they make all these stuff? Can it _be _any more tasteless?" Rhonda and Arnold stayed in the same hospital, but not on the same floor and she was being treated in a fancier ward room than Arnold's.

"Girl, what are you complaining about? I mean, look at Arnold. He's staying in a much cheaper ward and having more tasteless food than yours, but you don't see him complaining!"

She let out a sigh, "Alright, fine. I don't want to delay it anymore than we are now. Let's cut to the chase shall we?"

"What's up?"

"Ask Arnold to turn to Channel 5. There's big news about Curly. Oh, oh… don't hang up just yet, I want to talk with Arnold after this."

He held his palm over the receiver to avoid his voice to be heard over the phone, and turn his head to Arnold, "Channel 5 now man. Major news about the psycho."

"Whoa, really? That was quick. They've reached a verdict already?" He said with a quizzical tone as he picks the remote control next to him and changed the channel. The TV earlier was showing an animated movie about a kid who was trying desperately to save his neighborhood from being torn down by an evil entrepreneur. Arnold raised the volume up, as Gerald and Dr. Steiglitz looked at the TV screen in front of them, situated at a corner just below the ceiling. The TV screen now was showing an anchorwoman in front of the city's courthouse, presumably a reporter for the local news.

"In a decision that can be described as shocking, young Thaddeus Gammelthorpe, the perpetrator of the recent school shooting that stunned the nation was put into a high security mental hospital just a few minutes ago where he would be waiting for his trial due to the revelation that he was diagnosed with insanity earlier this week. His insanity status was concealed by his attorneys until today."

"To a nuthouse? Man, that's messed up." Gerald incredulously said. Arnold and Steiglitz ignored the remark and continued to watch the news.

"The young teen is accused of attempting to murder the daughter of the President and CEO of Lloyd's Monetary Firm and Associates, Buckley Lloyd. It was also believed that he shot two schoolmates of his during the murder attempt, where the brave heroes tried to suppress him down. Since the shootings the school is in a lockdown mode and the members of the faculty are barred from divulging any information to the media. Yet, our sources revealed that the school will be receiving extreme and severe penalty from the State Education Department for letting this horrifying incident to happen. Would this terrible event calls for stricter gun control laws, or just another scapegoat to blame violent videogames for this kind of act? Only time will tell. This is Marie Griffith, reporting for Channel 5 News."

"I can't hardly believe it. You kids these days…" Dr. Steiglitz muttered and shook his head as he walked out from the ward after watching the news.

A grin was spotted on Gerald's face as he watches the old veteran doctor exited the room. _"Well doc, not all kids are like that."_ He then gave the phone receiver to Arnold, "Here man, she wants to talk with ya." Gerald then continued to watch TV, leaving Arnold alone to talk with Rhonda.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Arnold. So what do you think?"

"I dunno, I feel it's too lenient, but then again, it's reasonable I guess, considering he's insane and all. But, who would've thought he would go that far?"

"I think so too. I don't know, ever since the incident; call me crazy, I like, have some sort of funny feeling about him. I think they called it Stockholm Syndrome or something… whatever. Whichever the case, I'm going to pay him a visit after I'm out from this wretched place."

The words stunned Arnold for a while, "Are you… serious?" he replied back with incredulity, lowering one half of his eyebrow. Gerald sensed something was amiss about the conversation.

_"The whole world has gone insane…"_

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I like, feel responsible about his condition. I mean, I'm the reason why he did that to me and… to you and Helga… and the rest of the people in school. I'm really sorry that, like, you were caught up between our feuds, Arnold. It's my fault all these things happened."

"Don't feel sorry for yourself, Rhonda. It's not your fault. This thing could happen under many circumstances, not just you alone as the only factor. Try not to think much of it. More you think about it, the more you feel guilty about it."

"Still, I couldn't help myself. Like, I really think it was me that all these happened, and I just thought like visiting him would annul my guilt a little bit."

"Well, suit yourself. Whatever your decision is, I'll respect it. I just hope you'll make the right choice. You're a bold girl, Rhonda. Bold girl." Arnold finished the sentence copying Gerald's trademarked statement in a jokingly manner. Gerald gave him a soft snicker and continued to surf the channel while sitting on the chair next to the bed.

"Thanks Arnold. You're a true blue pal to everyone. So my knight in shining armor; why exactly did you want to save me? You like me, don't you?" Rhonda asked him in a very playful flirting tone, although she had already known to the answer why Arnold saved her: He always looked after his friends, no matter what.

"He, he… Well, if I won't then who's going to drive us nuts about our taste in fashion?"

"Why, that is so unfair! But… In all seriousness, thank you for saving my life Arnold. I'm greatly indebted to you."

"Don't mention it Rhonda. I'm just looking after my friends, that's all. Even if it kills me."

"He, he." She giggled. "Oh, catch with you later Arnold. There's someone at the door. I think it's Nadine."

"Man, what a coincidence! There's someone at my door too."

"It's Phoebe and Helga, man. Are you forgetting that they're coming?" Gerald suddenly interrupted as he got up from his seat.

"Gerald said it's Helga and Phoebe. Well, I can always count on him on knowing how someone's knock would identify the person who did it." Arnold sarcastically said.

"Man, that's uncalled for." Gerald replied as he makes his way to the door. Rhonda was giggling softly.

"Well, talk to you later Rhonda. Enjoy Nadine's company."

"Yeah, don't let that Pataki girl drive you up the walls. Ciao!"

"Goodbye." They both then hung up the phone.

As Gerald clutched the doorknob, he couldn't help but to wonder at what Arnold and Rhonda said before the conversation went silly. "Say, Arnold. About the stuff you talked to her earlier, what did she actually say?"

"Let the girls in first, and then I'll tell you."

"Okay, it better be worth it." He then opened the door, revealing Phoebe holding a box of chocolate with Helga behind her, holding a flower bouquet with a 'Get well soon' card to accompany it.

"Greetings Gerald, Arnold." Phoebe greeted them in a soft, sweet voice.

"Hello girls." The boys responded back in chorus. Arnold was surprised about the arrival of an unexpected guest - Helga, "Wow, Helga, you're finally here. I-I thought you'd never come… since you—"

"I said it before and I'll say it again, Arnoldo. Just because I hate you doesn't mean I'm cold and heartless! Jeez, and I _just_ got here! Damn, you're _really_ asking me to shove these flowers up your—"

"Helga, please." Phoebe politely asked her to stand down. "I hope you wouldn't mind these chocolates that Helga picked just for you Arnold."

Upon hearing that Helga became restless. She quickly darted near Phoebe's ear and whispered to her, "Phoebe… _not_ now!"

"That's pretty thoughtful of you Helga. Hey, and it's my favorite too!" he complimented. "By the way, how did you two get here?"

"We got here by bus, as usual. We just so happened to stumble on Nadine along the way. She said she'll visit you as soon as after she visited Rhonda, and we would visit her after we visited you."

"So how's the wound, Arnold? Is it getting better?" Helga asked with curiosity and concern.

"It's getting better, thankfully. The doc even said I could get out from the hospital sooner at this rate." He briefly paused. "H-Helga… I'd like to apologize for not saying this sooner to you. Thank you for saving me."

"Well, that's great to hear Arnold… and thank you for saving me too." something's amiss. The main reason why she didn't visit him before was because she hated to see her beloved in a bedridden state. But, then again, it'll be the perfect opportunity to confess her love to him. She had told Phoebe about her plan many times during the three week period, although figuratively, without using any names. She was indeed surprised, but supportive of Helga's plan. Helga was quite nervous on the outcome of Arnold's reaction, like she would've imagined it before again and again. A little hint was given when they were on top of the FTi building, where she practically threw her guts out at him. Again, that was during their childhood, not the tumbling rollercoaster emotion of their teen years.

Phoebe saw her being reluctant again as she watched Helga returned into her bully mode back. She was definitely not pleased about it, because she remembered clearly: Helga spoke to her about her plans from early of the night to the wee hours of the morning, on the bus, at school, heck, even in the bathroom. It even affected her studies… she got her first B because of it, and suddenly she's not telling a single bit about her affection to him? She won't have it. She wanted Helga to confess it, right here, right now.

"Helga, don't you have something to say?"

"Like what?"

"Oh I don't know. Like your deepest feelings that you had harbored about him ever since you were three that you would kill yourself if he died?!" Phoebe can be really direct and cruel sometimes.

The boys was in shock after hearing that, "WHAT?!" they shouted out loud. Helga seemed defeated by Phoebe's word, although not very often. The last time she was like this when she and the girls were at Lila's house, where Phoebe gave her a good hard slap. Slowly she tried to gain her composure, and sit down next to Arnold and firmly clutched his hand.

"A-Arnold… do you want to know the real reason why I came to you and rescued you?" she asked him with an extremely nervous tone. "I-I… I love you."

"Gerald," Phoebe turned her head to him, "I think we should leave them alone." Gerald nodded his head, and he and Phoebe headed out. Gerald closed the door behind him.

"I think you owe me an explanation, Pheebs. What was that all about?"

She was about to answer it when all of the sudden the bell of the elevator dinged and out came the media group, interrupting them.

"I think his room is… there; to that hallway," a hospital staff pointed, and the press followed him.

"Here comes the media circus," Phoebe scoffed, slightly annoyed.

"Excuse me, is this Arnold's room?" one of the reporter asked.

"Yes, but we're afraid we can't let you in," Gerald replied.

"Huh, why? And who are you two?" the reporter asked again.

"He's having a private moment with another friend of ours. And we're his friends." Phoebe pointed out. "If you want to ask any questions, we'll be happy to answer it; as he and I are his spokesperson."

"Well, okay… at least it's better than nothing." _"Teenagers…"_ "All right, does Arnold have learned the decision that has been imposed onto Mr. Gammelthorpe? And what about Ms. Pataki?"

* * *

Over the top for sure. In real life, Rhonda would've be glad that Curly is in that place and she'd never speak to him again. But, this is not real world, this is a story, a made up story by an amateur writer. Anyway, thank you for reading and please leave a review and please point the errors if you found one. Oh, be sure to check the finale of this story, which I'm going to update in a couple of days since it's already done and I'm in a process of proofreading it. 


	9. The Visit

_Author's Note: _This is the final chapter, and I hope will satisfy all of you.

* * *

**Legal junk: I don't own Hey Arnold, but Nickelodeon does and Mr. Craig Bartlett created it. But this fic belongs to me. Clear? Good.**

Chapter 9: The Visit

_Two weeks after Rhonda's discharge from the hospital… _

"Okay… if you would please be so kind to write your name here miss…" a security officer asked Rhonda to write down her name on the visitor's log book at the mental hospital. She proceeded to do so.

"Okay, Miss Rhonda… Lloyd? Aren't you the girl who got shot by that psychotic kid?"

By now, she was already tired of answering the same question over and over again. Can someone just stop asking that? Don't they realize it's traumatic enough for her to stare at death in front of her eyes?

"Yes," she replied dryly in monotone, irritably. "Like, you wanna make something of it?"

"Oh… no, no, no, no. I'm just shocked that you actually wanted to see him."

"Well, it's certainly none of your business, isn't it?"

"Hey, just doing my job."

"Doing what? Being nosy? You certainly _are_ doing a great job." She replied sarcastically.

"Okay, okay. I'll shut up now. Sheesh, and I thought Amy was rude." He muttered under his breath, comparing Rhonda to his daughter. "Take a seat… a shrink will attend to you shortly."

Without any response from her at all, she put the pen on the table and walked to the visitor's waiting room. It wasn't so big; it looked a lot like a living room of someone's house, with sofas perfectly aligned to the walls and a coffee table in the middle with a pile of old magazines on top of it. Next to a tired looking decorative plant, a vending machine stood next to it. A 21" TV was hanging at the corner of the room. The reception was horrid, as the screen was filled with noise, distorted and she couldn't hear the sound properly. She could be deaf, but a more plausible reason that the volume was toned down. The screen was showing a soap opera of some sort. After flipping through the old copies of _Time_, _Newsweek_, and _Popular_ _Science _magazines many times, someone finally came to her, someone who she actually knew.

"Dr. Bliss? Is that you?"

"Oh, I remember you. You're one of Mr. Simmons' students in PS 118, aren't you? If I recall correctly, your name is Rhonda, right?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Oh wow, let me look at you darling! My, my, my, aren't you stunning!" She complimented. She reminded Rhonda of her aunt, who really liked to compliment on her fashion sense. But to be polite, she just gave her a smile. _"Well, that's Rhonda Lloyd to you, lady." _

"The guard just called me and said you want to see Curly, is that it? I'm happened to be the doctor who's supervising him. I'm the one who's checking his advancement, his progress and the one who's consulting him during his stay here. He's a tough nut to crack, if you'll excuse the pun. Come on, I'll show you to his room. He's quite dangerous at this stage, so I'm not going to let him out, for your safety and all."

They then walked out from the room and headed to the elevator. As they walk, they continued the conversation.

"What do you mean dangerous, doc? As in, like, he's going to attack me dangerous?"

"Well, something along that line. He's pretty unstable, and your presence might agitate him a little."

"Like, so why let me in?"

"It's a part of a test I'm conducting, seeing if he's ready to meet someone else apart from his family and me. "

"So, I'm your little guinea pig in your wicked, twisted evil scheme, huh?" Rhonda accused jokingly.

"Hehe, you could say that. By the way, how's the wound?"

"It's healed, thankfully, but it'll sting if I was running or something. Otherwise I'd have to come here with a wheelchair."

"That's good to hear."

They arrived at the elevator, and Dr. Bliss promptly pushed the button to go up. Just for a matter of seconds, it arrived and they went in.

"Oh, Rhonda. When the door opened up, we'll have to go through a security barrier before we can let you in. It's a standard procedure for visitors in facility. But don't fret. It won't take long."

"Like, okay, I guess…" and the elevator doors opened.

"Hey, Mitch."

"Good afternoon, doc." A guard greeted her behind a booth. Attending Curly again I see. Well, lookie here, a visitor."

"Yeah, she's with me. Could you go through the metal detector, Rhonda? Thanks." Rhonda went through the metal detector, and another guard came to her and searched her, like what airports did to the passengers.

"All right, you're free to go young lady. No harmful objects found. Hey doc, wanna join me at lunch later?" asked the guard behind the booth.

"I'm pretty busy during lunch hour, so, sorry Mitch."

"You're running away from me, aren't ya?" Mitch said jokingly, smiling.

"Why, yes. Yes I am," Dr. Bliss said back smiling, also jokingly. Both of them knew that it'll be awkward to see a doctor and a security guard to sit in the same table. Just like high school - was the inside joke of the hospital's employees.

"Heh, see ya later." The guard then pressed a button on the panel and the door opened up.

"Well, that was a wonderful experience, wasn't it?" Dr. Bliss said with a smile, trying to ease Rhonda's nervousness.

"Yeah… I think. Say doc, like, is there a place where we could bypass security after we're over?" She said as she walked next to Dr. Bliss in the hallway.

"Sorry, rules are rules."

She let out a soft sigh, "Man, like this facility has a terrible visitor policy."

"Oh come on, honey. It's not _that_ bad. Ah yeah, I forgot to mention, in this area where we're in right now is where we keep most of the mental patients with a high level of insanity and violent here."

"Well, _that's _comforting!" Rhonda said sarcastically.

Dr. Bliss just smiled at the teen's remark, "Ah, in this room," she pointed a door as they walked by it, "there's this woman that says that some 'Cyborg' from the future is coming at her and trying kill her. And over here," she pointed yet to another door, "this guy claims that he's a cannibal. You learn something new everyday, huh? Well, here we are, Curly's Abode."

"Be thou assured, if words be made of breath, and breath is life: I have no life to breathe, what thou hast said to me." Curly soliloquized in his small room, but had the appropriate necessities to sleep, drink and there was actually a small toilet inside. The door had a small window so the patient and the people outside could see each other.

"Push the intercom anytime you're ready."

Rhonda nodded, and pressed the button. The intercom was located next to the door. "Curly?"

Curly abruptly stop, but paid no heed to Rhonda. Instead, he turned himself away from the door and continues to read. Rhonda tried again. Dr. Bliss watched her from afar as she jotted down some notes on her clipboard, in a writing that you would expect from a doctor; quick, untidy, and nearly impossible to read.

_Thursday: 3:36 pm – Subject A's first visit to Patient C. Patient C is not responding vocally to Subject A's call, Patient C is instead ignoring Subject A by turning away from Subject A. _

"Curly… it's me, Rhonda. Like, remember me? Your love of your life? Your only true soul mate?" A brief pause, "I guess not… listen, Curly. I know that you probably hate me now—"

"Who doesn't?" Curly suddenly cut her off. "Why do you even bother visiting me? In case if you haven't noticed _Rhonda_, it's because of you I'm inside this wretched hellhole. Is love too hard and too grand for you? I was just asking for companionship, that's all, nothing less. You know… if it wasn't for Arnold, you'd be six feet under by now. And here I am paying the price, guilty of my crime: love."

_- Patient C is showing a hint of hostility towards Subject A. Nothing physical is shown, although the tone of Patient C's voice sounded bitterly unwelcoming._

She was stunned at the remark. Rhonda then let out a heavy breath, and continued. "Well, the reason why am I here… is t-to have a talk with you. I thought if we could start this all over again, right from the beginning, you know, so we could get along with each other… a-and to get acquainted again. I… I just want to say that… t-that I'm sorry for all those years I ignored you and said all those mean things to you. Somehow, deep down inside, I… I do have feelings for you, despite your behavior. Please Curly, let's have a talk, starting from when we first met, please, shall we?"

"What, you think you could change my mind just by saying all those pretty little bullshit to me?! Saying you're sorry, just like _that_?! You think I'm going to give you a chance?! HAH!! Go to hell."

"Well, what are you going to lose?"

"I SAID, NO!!" he spun around violently and threw the book at her, but the fiberglass window shielded her from getting hit. She quickly darted away from the door, startling. Curly charged at the door, kicking and banging it violently, "Let me out, doc! _Let-me-out!!_ Now I'm REALLY going to kill her _this _time!" he shouted vehemently, but the attempt seemed worthless.

_- Some profanities are being said. Patient C is finally showing physical aggression by throwing a book to Subject A, and the door to the room is being kicked and banged at. Patient C is threatening to kill Subject A. _

Rhonda was quite perplexed, but she expected for him to act that way, since Dr. Bliss had told her earlier, but not THAT kind of way. She placed her hands over her chest, as her eyes began to brim with tears. Detecting something was amiss; the caring Dr. Bliss walked over to her and hugged her to comfort, as Rhonda began to cry.

"Rhonda… are you okay, honey? Would you like to go now?" she asked softly with a trace of concern.

"Yes…" she sobbed, "but I won't give up on him. I won't, never. I will come back tomorrow. And if he still doesn't change, I will come here again until he does." She said with a broken voice.

Like she said, she did come back again to the mental asylum. Again, Curly was being hostile to her. Days had passed, and she had tried different approach on him, like bringing him some gift, reminiscing about their old childhood days, and she even brought Arnold along. It was all encouraged by Dr. Bliss, and they became close friends ever since. It was not until the twentieth day that Curly went soft on her.

---

It had been four months since the incident, but in everyone's mind, the unfortunate unforgettable incident was fresh like it happened yesterday. Although nobody got killed, nevertheless the tragedy left everyone in the school a scar, a huge scar that was hard to heal. The bullet holes at the lockers were still there, as a reminder to the students about the incident and how it wouldn't happen again. And due to that incident as well, the school's security had become stricter and it could rival most major airports in the country. Induced by the security measures taken by other schools in major cities across the country, the school administration even installed some new, state of the art metal detectors at every entrance, and put more CCTVs (Closed Circuit Television Cameras) in every hallway, and employed more security personnel to patrol the school around the clock. The school administration still didn't know how did Curly managed to bypass security before the current measure was taken. What used to be the safest urban school in the country; had now bumped up to the top twenty most dangerous schools in the nation. The final bell of the day rang, and most of the students were leaving their classes, except for Arnold, Helga and Gerald, who were still inside.

"How's the arm, football head? Does it still stings?" she asked, as she strokes his arm.

"Yeah, even after four months. The doctor said I can't raise my arm too high, or it might not heal at all."

"Aww, poor you…" she said, and she gave him a peck on his lips. "I'd better get going, Phoebe is waiting for me."

"See you later, sweetie." Arnold replied.

"Criminy Arnold. How many times do I have to tell you I hate it when you use those stupid lovey-dovey pet names?"

"Okay…" he caved in. "See you later Helga," he smiled warmly.

"Much better, bucko," she smiled back, lifting her bag and went out pass Gerald who was sitting on the table, waiting for Arnold.

"Sweetie is a pet name?" Gerald asked, smiling and shaking his head.

"To her," answered Arnold, smiling back.

"Heh, I'm telling ya man; you and Helga are the oddest couple in school. It was like you two weren't even a couple at all! So, what are you doing after school, man? Wanna join me and the guys for some quick round of baseball?" he said as he and Arnold walked out from the class together.

"I sorta have plans for today. I've promised Rhonda that we're going with to visit Curly at the mental hospital. You wanna come?"

They passed a metal detector, and it didn't ring, "Again? Man, she does really have a thing for him, despite that the fact he tried to kill her and all. It's very kind of you to invite me man, but I think I'll pass this one out. I have lacrosse practice after school."

"Gerald, you said you're going to play baseball right after school, and our school doesn't have a lacrosse team. Which one is right? Lacrosse practice or playing baseball?"

He fumbled a bit, "Uhh, well… Okay, you got me. I just don't wanna see him. He's a psycho, a freak. I mean, he tried to kill you for crying out loud!"

"Well, true… but I met him last month Gerald, and trust me, he's really improving."

"We'll just see after he's released from the… Happy Mansion," Gerald said, grinning. They then arrived at the bus stop, where Rhonda was waiting impatiently for him to arrive.

"Where have you been?" Rhonda demanded an answer, tapping her feet.

"I'm sorry Rhonda, I—"

"Save your breath!" she scoffed angrily.

"Well, see ya later Arnold." Gerald said, and they both did their handshake, and left him to deal with Rhonda alone. He then stood next to her and waiting nervously for the bus to arrive, and there was nothing but silence between them, each with their own thoughts. Five minutes had passed from the intended schedule. The unpunctual bus and the long wait drove Rhonda crazy, and she finally snapped.

"_WHERE THE HELL IS THE FRIGGIN BUS!?__ AUGHH!"_

Arnold glared at her, and calmly he said, "Rhonda, it's just five minutes. There's no reason you should go crazy just because the bus is late for five minutes."

"Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She apologized. "I'm just anxious to meet him Arnold, that's all. He has improved over the past few months, and I… well… thanks Arnold, for believing in him. You're friend to everyone."

"Don't mention it, Rhonda." He smiles broadly.

Another five minutes have passed.

"You know, I think we should take a cab instead…"

**THE END**

* * *

Thus end the story of Curly and Rhonda. I'd like to thank to all who reviewed this fic, and hopefully you'll read my other works as well. Again, thank you, and please leave a review. 


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